UKC

Thanks to a lot of pressure from the Cambrian Mountain Society, the proposed wind farm of up to 27 turbines of 125m high has been rejected by the secretary of state.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mynydd-y-gwynt-wind-farm-refused-develop...

The wind farm would have been 2km from the summit of Pumlumon and if it had gone ahead it would have set a precedent for applications all along the Cambrian mountains.
Great news for those of us who love this area and a good reason to join these groups and societies that exist to preserve our wilderness area, they do sometimes win.

In reply to Moley:

I actually disagree with you on this one. Whilst I'd usually be against the desecration of nice, natural places, especially like the wilds of mid-Wales, I'd much rather that turbines were built here. We need green power. Pumlumon, despite being the "highest mountain in mid-Wales" (whatever that means...) actually has very few visitors and isn't in a national park. From the top you can see other turbines in the distance, the road and a huge man-made reservoir and associated dam. Not exactly an undeveloped landscape. It gets a good amount of consistent wind given it's unblocked proximity to the coast, and given the low population is the ideal place to put wind turbines, which we need to move towards a sustainable energy mix. I'd rather the hill (it's not a mountain, lets be honest) looked marginally less pretty and the anthropogenic influences on climate were kept in check.

If it were a more significant "mountain" (again, do we really have mountains in Wales?) within the national park then I could agree with not building turbines - but if we're not going to build them in windy, rarely visited parts of mid-Wales then where the f*ck are we going to build them??? IMHO, this sets a worrying precedent against building wind farms anywhere in the southern half of the UK.

P.S. I'm local, and head up there at least 5 times a year.

In reply to ianstevens:

I'm certainly not disputing with you that Pumlumon is not the most inspiring "mountain", though the whole ridge has it's beauty. We also tend to think only of views from the tops of hills, whereas from the valleys looking upwards are just as important. I have camped quite a bit in Hengwm which gives the impression of being away from all human habitation and interference - I feel this is important that there are a few places left that people can enjoy a few hours (days and nights) away from the infrastructures of modern life.
There is also a plan for a Nant-y-Moch wind farm, of 62 turbines of 480ft on the slopes of Pumlumon covering an area of 9 x 5 miles, overlooking these historical valleys - I'm not keen on that either.

In 1965 the National Parks Commission decided that the Cambrian Mountains should be Britain's 11th national park, to cut a long story short, in 1973 it failed (much to the shock of the countryside commission), mainly due to objections from farmers/landowners and local authorities - predictable opposition - and some pre-election politics. The area is currently battling for status as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

If this wind farm was approved it would open the doors to applications all down the Cambrians and Elenydd - there are plenty of mutterings down this end from landowners hoping to cover the uplands in turbines.

Where to put them? Top of Snowdon for a start, they already have a railway and café up there, so a few turbines wouldn't harm.

In reply to ianstevens:

'where the f*ck are we going to build them??? ' Well, there's quite a few places round the Severn Estuary that seem to me would probably be improved by windfarms - how many could you build between, say, Cardiff and the Severn Bridge, that no one could possibly object to? Or the coast between the Dee estuary and Llandudno? Or...

In reply to Moley:

Good news. Thanks for posting.

In reply to ianstevens:

Amazing to see someone talking sense for a change.

In reply to Rob Exile Ward:

My personal thoughts on the siting of wind farms, are that they should be in areas surrounding population - if you are already looking out on urbanisation a few turbines on top of the hills make little difference. Up the Severn estuary, fine.

Currently, the thinking is to pick areas with low or no population to object to the proposals, where there's a few farmers and landowners who want the cash (easy money to retire on)and try for planning there. The places of least resistance

In reply to Moley:

Excellent news! Another vote from a local who's extremely glad this has been rejected. Pumlumon's a magic area needing protection and the case for the Cambrian Mountains becoming an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is utterly compelling. Some required reading for those who think that Pumlumon is worthless as it's apparently just a rarely visited 'hill' and is therefore only fit for plastering with turbines: http://cambrian-mountains.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/cambrian-mountai...

IMHO, wind power isn't going to save the planet and anyone who thinks otherwise may be self-deluded. Settled high pressure winter weather with sub-zero temperatures, as in 2010 and 2011 = no wind power generation for weeks due to no wind at a time when UK electricity demand reached record levels. Gales and storms (as very recently) = no wind power generation for hours/days due to too much wind. (I should know, as Wales' biggest wind farm is in plain sight of my house and I can see when the turbine blades are turning and when they're not.) Climbers and walkers who think otherwise possibly need to take a long hard look at their own life-choices. Giving up the car entirely, using only public transport and shanks' pony to get to the crags and mountains and never flying anywhere to climb may be something to seriously consider before giving ill-considered support to blatant money-making schemes to cover Britain's uplands with turbines.

BTW, I'm pro-wind power; only not on upland landscapes such as the Cambrian Mountains.

In reply to Moley:

Wind turbines have no place desecrating our lovely landscapes. This is a great decision. Try breeding less for a lasting eco boost.

In reply to digby:

I reckon that the (Visual/environmental impact)/MWh ratio of windfarms is way too high.
Biomass generation is catching up with wind output quite quickly at the moment and I don't know where these power stations are.
Can anyone here, off the top off your head, point to a Biomass station? I can't (apart from part of Drax)