RWE proposes two windfarms

BRECHFA FOREST, WALES - Two windfarms with a combined capacity of up to 120 megawatts (MW) are being proposed for Brechfa Forest in Wales by RWE npower renewables, part of German energy company RWE AG.

RWE has just completed a year-long series of detailed environmental surveys within the Brechfa Forest and has decided to split the original plans into two separate projects. The company will now apply for the Brechfa Forest West and the Brechfa Forest East windfarms. The company says that the larger Brechfa Forest West site can take up to 28 turbines with a capacity range of 56 to 84 MW, while the smaller Brechfa Forest East site can accommodate up to 12 turbines with a capacity ranging between 24 and 36 MW.

RWE npower renewables entered into an agreement in November 2008 to secure the rights to develop windfarms in the forest with Forestry Commission Wales, which manages Wales' forests on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government. The proposed projects are located northeast of Carmarthen in the county of Carmarthenshire.

"We are now at a stage where we have more information on our draft proposals, which we want to discuss with local people — such as a proposed turbine layout and computer-generated views of what the proposed windfarm could look like," explained project manager Bethan Thomas. "It is important to note that these are not the final plans and may still change. However, these exhibitions will provide local people with an opportunity to meet members of the project team and to view turbine-layout plans and other project information."

An application for the smaller windfarm will be made to the local Carmarthenshire county council while the larger windfarm will have to go through the UK's newly established Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) which is charged with handling all applications for power plants larger than 50 MW.