Why we are supporting Alwen Forest Wind Farm and Grid Connection

Ynni Cymunedol Cymru has been working with RWE Renewables since 2017, to secure a first for Wales – a community ownership stake in a commercially developed, large-scale wind farm.

The project is now in a formal consultation process as of November 26th 2024, and open to letters of support from the public until January 14th 2025.

Shared Ownership

In 2020, Welsh Government set a policy expectation that. “all new energy projects should have at least an element of local ownership from 2020”,

This is a step in the right direction for energy in Wales – an opportunity for Welsh communities to own a viable energy asset, and the vast social, economic and environmental benefits that that provides.

So far, shared ownership as a concept is being tested. This is shown by the number of private developers who have not bothered to engage with us or local communities on this matter. RWE are one of only a handful of developers CEW recognises as acting in good faith.

To illustrate this, we have seen only 3 projects reaching Community Energy Wales’ standard for this agenda – that means having a signed document with a community counterparty. This is out of a total of 32 registered with PEDW since Welsh Government’s announcement of the shared ownership policy in 2020.

Leading the Way:

The Alwen Forest Wind Farm and Grid Connection is the first of these – a pioneer in the shared ownership model in Wales. Work on this shared ownership agreement was started in 2017, 2 years before the Welsh Government published the policy expectation, a powerful illustration of the willingness on the part of the developer to do right by the local community.

The model allows for a community to own 15% of RWE’s project as an equity investment. This agreement has been signed by both Ynni Cymunedol Cymru and RWE in a Statement of Understanding.

That document also formed the basis for RWE and Ynni Cymunedol Cymru’s working relationship, outlining how YCC were to be resourced to take part in public meetings, hold independent sessions with the local community and be present for regular technical project meetings.

It also allowed Ynni Cymunedol Cymru to establish Ynni Hiraethog, a Community Benefit Society, as the owner of the community stake in the project. Local people will be able to buy a share in Ynni Hiraethog on a ‘one shareholder, one vote’ basis, earning a reasonable return on their shares with the knowledge that any surplus funds will be used for community benefit locally. This is in addition and separate to the community benefit package offered by RWE.

We see from our members what owning an energy asset means – community revitalisation, public support for energy projects, and further community owned business creating good local jobs. Ynni Hiraethog will be in a situation to provide the sort of activities and projects that are delivered by existing CEW members because of their ownership stake.

There is no doubt that this project represents a significant move forward towards local ownership and agency. Our mission at Community Energy Wales is to see a green, community-led energy system and our partnership with RWE in supports that aspiration.

Supporting the Application:

In terms of good practice on shared ownership to date, this project reaches what we consider to be the gold standard, and we fully endorse it. The decision has to be made by PEDW, balancing the evidence submitted about the benefits of the project, with the impacts. Community Ownership is not by law a material benefit. We think it should be, and we think it matters that as many voices as possible let the planners know that we think a community stake matters.

The window to send letters of support for the project is currently open. We encourage all that care about community asset building in Wales and a fairer energy system to show their support for this project, and set a precedent in the planning system for shared ownership.

Guidance to write your letter of support is available here.

If you would like to support community energy further, please sign up to our RhanNi network, where we will keep you informed on what actions you can take.