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PLEASE SPEND JUST 5 MINUTES reading this page and see if you want to learn more about the FOUR industrial developments planned for our mountain.
Trecelyn Wind Farm
Cil Lonyd Solar Farm
Mynydd Maen Wind Farm
Rhyswg Wind Farm
A Summary of The Wind Farm Proposals.
Mynydd Maen Wind Farm by RES, 13 massive turbines 150m high overlooking Cwmbran and in full view from Pantygasseg. These are over twice as high as Cwmbran’s iconic 22 story block of flats.
Trecelyn Wind Farm by Pennant Walters, 4 turbines up to 145m high close to Newbridge and Hafodyrynys
Rhyswg Wind Farm by Pennant Walters, 5 turbines 180m high on on the hilltop between Cwmcarn and the Forest Drive, and Abercarn/Llanfach. Close to Twmbarlwm.
The total is now 21 turbines.
We created this website to inform people about the proposed Mynydd Maen Windfarm, now our mountain is threatened by four massive industrial projects.
We all support renewable energy but we believe each project needs to be applied in ways that are sensitive to those environments that we are hoping to save. Is this the right scheme in the right place? Read on and spread the word!
Click on images to enlarge
Construction of each turbine will involve large machines removing the peat and all vegetation, and digging a flat area of about 1.5 acres for each of 13 turbines. Peat, soil, subsoil and rock will be piled around the area as is shown here, ruining many more acres of the sensitive habitat for many years, probably forever.
In addition RES propose the digging of three “Borrow Pits”, or quarries, to get stone for the roads. Each of these is going to be a lot bigger that the excavation for each turbine.
The RES project will 8 kilometres of new tracks with drainage built to take the heaviest of loads. Peat and subsoil will have to be removed and piled alongside. In addition there will be 8km of cable trenches, an electricity substation, a maintenance yard and parking.
Peatlands store twice as much carbon as all the world’s forests. The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) storage in peatlands is dependent on the condition of the peat. It takes around 10 years to lay down 1cm of peat. On Mynydd Maen, RES’ peat sensors show that our peat is 300-1,000 years old, and has been locking in CO2 all the time it was forming. Welsh Government’s Soil Policy Evidence Programme of 2020-21 confirms that the soils on Mynydd Maen are defined as peat, even in places where the soils appear to be shallow. RES’ soil probe maps show that peat soils extend right across the site proposed for the wind turbines.
Each turbine base requires about 1000 tonnes of concrete and 165 tonnes of steel. Concrete will be mixed off site and transported up through Pantside housing estate, Newbridge
After about 25 years (the typical service life of a turbine) only the top of the concrete will be removed and it will be covered with earth/peat etc..
If both wind farms are approved there will be 63 long loads like this accessing the mountain via Central Avenue and Old Pant Road in Pantside housing estate and then on to Abercarn Mountain Road. In addition there will be at least 100 or more heavier loads (pieces of the towers, the nacelles (hub and generator), heavy plant, cranes and transformers, in addition to thousands of concrete lorries, construction workers cars and so on.
In Pantside it will be necessary to remove handrails, traffic islands, lamp-posts; flatten a roundabout etc, and ban parking on much of the route.
Abercarn Mountain Road suffers a worse fate, it will be decimated, unrecognisable. Trees and recently restored drystone walls will have to be removed in the lane and the lane will be widened and then diverted onto new wide gravel tracks in adjacent fields for much of it’s length.
Quote by RES: “FOLLOWING THE WIND FARM CONSTRUCTION PHASE, WIDENING WORK WILL BE REINSTATED AS SOON AS REASONABLY PRACTICABLE. IN THE UNLIKELY EVENT THAT A REPLACEMENT BLADE IS REQUIRED DURING THE OPERATIONAL PHASE, WIDENING WORK WILL BE TEMPORARILY REOPENED, AND REINSTATED FOLLOWING REPLACEMENT COMPLETION.”
It is CERTAINLY NOT unlikely at all that one or more new turbine blades will be required during the lifetime of the wind farm, so, IF the road is reinstated then all this will have to be done again! In any case when the wind farm is redundant, in say 25 years, how will all the components be removed from the mountain without one again decimating the lane!
The turbines will be heard! RES will tell you they are within the industry standards but those standards are out of date and not fit for purpose!
Click on image or click here
and see Mr Patrick O’Brien talking about….
The harsh reality of living near wind turbines
Although RES have had two public consultations for The Mynydd Maen Wind Farm, it is clear that many people still do not know of any proposals and most of those that do know are very unaware of the true scale of the project.
Many people felt that the information offered at these consultations is or was very limited, calculated to gloss over the negatives, and that answers to questions were, shall we say, “circumspect.”
Express your views here or email us if you want to contribute to this website.