April 7, 2020
Wales

Innogy withdraws Carnedd Wen plans

German company looks to review 150MW Welsh onshore scheme before fresh application | Renewable Energy News | 6 April 2020 | renews.biz

Innogy has withdrawn its planning application for the 150MW Carnedd Wen Wind Farm to revise its plans for the proposed development in Powys, Mid Wales.

The German company has written to BEIS to formally withdraw the application and ask the department not to proceed with a re-determination of the scheme, a proposed 50-turbine onshore wind farm located north of Llanbrynmair.

A public inquiry was held into the proposal between 2013 and 2014, with an an inspector recommending the granting of partial consent with conditions.

However In September 2015 the then Department of Energy and Climate Change refused consent for the project, against the advice of the Planning Inspectorate. The High Court then quashed that decision in December 2015, returning the decision to the Secretary of State’s desk for a fresh decision.

Innogy’s letter to BEIS says that market changes mean new projects require taller turbines to be economically viable. It adds: “Smaller turbines with lower tip heights and shorter blades, such as those proposed in the Carnedd Wen project, are being phased out by manufacturers and are unlikely to be available in the future”.

A spokesperson for Innogy told reNEWS the company had withdrawn its current application for the Carnedd Wen Wind Farm and Habitat Restoration Project.

She added: “The onshore wind industry has seen many changes since the application was originally submitted in 2008 and innogy is keen to review its plans with a view to potentially resubmitting an application for a revised scheme to the Welsh Government in due course. “

In December Innogy applied to Powys Council to extend the operations of an 80-metre met mast at the site by three years.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/04/07/innogy-withdraws-carnedd-wen-plans/