Welsh govt rejects land application for 48-MW RWE wind farm

The Welsh government has turned down a common land application in relation to RWE Innogy UK's 48-MW Mynydd y Gwair wind project in southern Wales.

The 16-turbine wind farm is planned to be located on common land near Swansea. In a decision announced on Wednesday, however, deputy minister for farming and food Rebecca Evans did not grant the required consent for deregistration and exchange and works on common land, agreeing with the recommendation of the planning inspector who had considered the application.

Project development manager Gwenllian Elias said, as cited by The South Wales Evening Post, that the company would review the reasons behind the decision and look to resubmit a new common land application. The scheme already has a planning permission from the City and County of Swansea Council and has secured a Contract for Difference (CfD) subsidy. Elias said the project was very deliverable and well-designed and noted that it represents an investment of about GBP 50 million (USD 77m/EUR 69m).

The Welsh government ruling was hailed by campaigners who have fought wind farm proposals on the site for 24 years, The South Wales Evening Post said.

RWE Innogy UK is the UK renewables arm of German utility RWE (ETR:RWE).

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.540/EUR 1.387)

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