December 7, 2007
Wales
Wales
Campaigners have challenged a developer to reveal the size of 50 turbines it plans to put on a Montgomeryshire windfarm.
CeltPower wants to replace the 103 turbines at Penrhyddlan and Llidiartywaun (P & L) Windfarm, south of Newtown.
Protesters claim the new turbines could be 368 feet tall.
But the company says the plans could half the number (50) of turbines on the site, although it could not confirm the exact number until the size of the turbines was decided.
The Mitsubishi MWT-250G wind turbines on the site stand at 45 metres high and when the site was initially built in 1992 it was the largest windfarm in Europe.
A spokesman for CeltPower said they could not yet confirm the size of the replacement turbines as it is still working on a candidate turbine.
However he revealed the new turbines would generate 115 megawatts of electricity – enough to provide power for 64,000 households.
Lack of information about the size of the proposed replacement turbines has drawn criticism from the group Conservation of Upland Montgomeryshire.
Dan Munford, a spokesman for the group, said: “How big are the turbines they are going to install? This is the key element in their proposal which they have not revealed. Are they 100 feet, or 500 feet high?”
Mr Munford said his group believes the turbines will be around 368 feet tall, something which they say would cause a ‘considerable change to the skyline of Montgomeryshire’.
Mr Munford also queried the local benefit of the project, he said: “What is the community benefit to Dolfor, Llandinam and Newtown in their proposal? We have seen precious little community benefit from windfarms in Mid Wales and if these developments are approved, it is high Continued from Page One
time that we became very hard nosed about it.”
A spokesman for the developers said that any environmental impact would be kept to a minimum.
He said it would be minimised by the fact that a grid connection is already in place and the majority of material needed for any work on the hard standing required would be taken from a borrow pit nearby.
He also said there would be little need to upgrade access roads.
The firm also said it is keen to have an open discussion with the public about the project and people are invited to attend a series of open days to discuss it.
You can find out more about the project by attending one of the following open days: Dolfor Community Centre, December 11, between 2pm until 8pm; Llandinam Village Hall, December 12, between 2pm and 8pm; Bear Lanes Shopping Centre, Newtown, December 13, between 9am and 5pm.
A spokesman for CeltPower said project members will be on hand to answer any question about the project members of the public may have. No appointment is required.
By Dominic Robertson
7 December 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/12/07/row-over-size-of-turbines-for-windfarm/