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LATEST NEWS:
Yet another wind farm proposed for Mynydd Maen (READ MORE HERE!)
RES have now submitted their full planning application to PEDW and it is awaiting validation. There has been some delay because of the sheer number of proposals currently being submitted. It could be validated any day now so please be ready to object!
The proposals include 13 massive turbines 150m high; over twice as high as Cwmbran’s iconic 22 story block of flats. (There will be another 4 turbines on the Newbridge side, this is called the Trecelyn Wind Farm).
We have created this website to inform people about the proposed Mynydd Maen wind farm. Scroll down for more.
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 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. These are going to be a lot bigger that the excavation for each turbine,
8 kilometres of new tracks with drainage will be required 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.
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 51 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: “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 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 https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=787870016090863
and see Mr Patrick O’Brien talking about….
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View the Pre-Application Consultation Documents
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Have big concerns? Join our action group!
Although RES have had two public consultations, 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.
There is no doubt about it, the wind farm proposed by RES on Mynydd Maen is massive and it will adversly affect the lives of people who live nearby. The turbines will be 150m high, and there will be 13 of them crammed up on top of our beautiful mountain. Read more about the proposals…
Pennant-Walters has registered with PEDW an interest in building yet another wind farm on the mountain between Cwmbran, Abercarn and Newbridge, in addition to their Trecelyn proposals. The Rhyswg wind farm, with 4 turbines 180m tip height is to be built on Cefn Rhyswg on land belonging to Rhyswg-ganol and Rhyswg-fawr farms. At least one […]
This is a reference page for those that are interested in learning more about the multiple proposals threatening Pantside and Mynydd Maen Future Wales: the national plan 2040 (Click Here) Future Wales is the national development framework for Wales and the multiple applications for wind farms across Wales have been encouraged by the simplified planning […]
In 2019 various organisations were consulted about the Draft National Development Framework (NDF). The three local councils, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Blaenau Gwent returned Consultation Response Forms, (as did other Welsh Councils). Torfaen’s response generally was far less detailed and in-depth than the other two councils, in my opinion but if we just look at the […]
You must watch this! This is a testimony from someone who has lived next to a wind farm for some years. You need to log into Facebook to see this video, unfortunately. SHARE https://fb.watch/qPU1fUnSVc/
Mr Matt Davies, a regular runner on Mynydd Maen, has started an online petition asking the Senedd Welsh Parliament to reject the wind farm proposals
The RES consultations have been sadly lacking in any photos that show the true size of the turbines, or how they will appear from neighbourhoods close to the proposed wind farm Here we add some photos and some visualisations that may help you see how big they are!
This turbine is special for three reasons It is Community Owned It is the largest turbine in England It is the same size as the 13 that are proposed for Mynydd Maen. The turbine cost £6m and it is proudly owned by Ambition Community Energy CIC which is part of Ambition Lawrence Weston, a community […]
It’s a good thing the West doesn’t have to manufacture any of this stuff. Imagine all of the emissions we can “delete” by having China make everything for us?
Below there are links to Forward Planning Documents prepared in 2021 for Torfaen CBC and Blaenau Gwent CBC. They refer to the suitability of selected area for renewable energy installations. I am assured by my local Torfaen councillor that they are currently valid. I hope RES are aware of them as at first sight it […]
There is an urgent need to assess the potential impact of windfarms being installed on precious and vulnerable peatlands, according to a new study.
The study revealed more than 640 wind turbines on blanket bogs across the European Union and the UK
Environmental scientists at Nottingham Trent University have for the first time mapped the extent of known windfarm infrastructures, such as wind turbines and vehicle tracks, on recognised blanket bogs in Europe.
Blanket bogs – a rare type of peatland commonly found in areas with lots of rain and low temperatures – are typically found on hill summits where wind energy potential is higher, making them attractive sites for windfarm developments.
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