Coriolis Energy and ESB have submitted the planning application for the 130MW Y Bryn Wind Farm to the Welsh Government.
The move follows three phases of extensive local community and technical consultation, including with Natural Resources Wales, from 2021 until 2023.
The wind farm, located on Welsh Government Woodland Estate northeast of Port Talbot, has been validated by Planning and Environment Decision Wales (PEDW), and will now be subject to examination over the coming months.
Y Bryn Wind Farm includes up to 18 turbines, which could deliver the equivalent to the annual needs of 68% of households in Neath Port Talbot and Bridgend combined, whilst offsetting over 137,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel generation each year.
Y Bryn Wind Farm will significantly contribute to the Welsh Government’s target to reach 100% of Welsh electricity consumption by renewable means by 2030 and the aspiration is to have at least 1.5GW within community ownership, the developers said.
The project has reached agreements to establish the ‘Awel y Bryn Co-op’, alongside local energy charity Awel Aman Tawe (AAT), and third-sector champions Neath Port Talbot Council for Voluntary Service (NPTCVS) and Bridgend Association of Voluntary Organisations (BAVO), which will enable and industry leading Community Benefit Fund and Shared Ownership schemes.
The project will deliver £8,000/MW each year to the Community Benefit Fund, which could be in the region of £1m per year for the lifetime of the project, and up to 20% of the project will be available for shared ownership.
Trevor Hunter, Y Bryn project manager, said: “We are excited for the examination period to commence and pleased that we have been able to engage with so many stakeholders interested in the development.
“We believe this development will make significant contributions to meet Wales’ renewable energy targets.
“We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the consultation processes since 2021.
“We have received a range of views about the plans, including a great deal of local and regional support.
“At this stage, we’d encourage everyone with a view on the proposals to participate in the PEDW Examination process.”
The planning application is now with an Inspector from Planning Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) who will examine the application before a final decision is made by Welsh Ministers.