Renewable energy is delivering for Wales says Minister
6 Jun 2014 04:11 PM
Minister for Natural
Resources and Food, Alun Davies was in Caerphilly for the opening of two new
wind turbines that will power local homes and provide reduced price energy for
local business, whilst also contributing around £10,000 a year to the
local community
The new wind turbines which are
located on Oakdale Wind Energy Park are the result of collaboration between
Caerphilly County Council and Partnership for Renewables (PfR), a developer
established in 2007 to focus on the development of wind energy schemes on
public sector land.
It is estimated that the energy
produced by the two new turbines will be enough to power around 2400
homes, but there are also plans for some of the electricity to be sold directly
to a local business at a reduced rate as part of efforts to help boost the
local economy.
And, as with many renewable
energy projects the turbines will deliver genuine benefits into the heart of
the community, with the community expected to gain £10,000 a year for the
life of the project
Speaking at the event, Alun
Davies said:
“Wales is very fortunate
to be rich in energy resource. I am determined that we will work
innovatively and collaboratively to maximise the long term economic benefits of
that resource to Wales and to deliver my ambitions around green
growth.
“The project that I am
visiting today shows exactly what can be achieved through positive partnership
working and is also an excellent example of how local communities can
directly benefit from renewable energy projects.”
During his visit the Minister
also announced that he had published a new report which gathered information on
all the low carbon energy projects operating in Wales at the end of
2012.
The report shows that by the end
of 2012 there were over 36,000 renewable energy projects in Wales,
generating an estimated 2719 Gigawatt Hour (GWh) and delivering an
annual saving of over 1.2m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
It also shows that by the end of
2012 the generation potential from low carbon projects reached almost 5.5TWH,
providing 35% of Wales’ national electricity consumption and 1% of its
gas consumption.
The Minister
added:
“Our report on low carbon
energy generation in Wales establishes a clear baseline of low carbon energy
projects in Wales and shows how far we have come in recent years in our efforts
to move away from traditional forms of energy generation. Low carbon energy is
already providing around 35% of the electricity that we consume here in
Wales.
“The report will make
it much easier for us to measure our progress in the years to come, not only in
terms of energy generation but also in capturing information around the
emissions that we have avoided as a result of low carbon energy generation
technology.”
The Low Carbon Energy Generation
in Wales report is available on the Welsh Government website. Further studies
are due to be carried out so Wales’s progress on low carbon energy
generation can be captured
Links
Renewable energyLow carbon energy baseline
survey