Niall Lennon

The Government gave NPower the go ahead today to build a giant wind farm off the coast of Wales, making the offshore development one of the largest of its kind.

Npower, who will be leading the development, have proposed to build between 150 and 250 turbines eight miles off the North Wales coast. It will be close the site of two other wind farms currently in the vicinity, which are just off the coast of the resort Rhyl. Once completed, the new development will be capable of generating power for more than half a million homes.

The new Gwynt y Mor wind farm will be the second largest in the world, the largest also being a UK development, the North Hoyle wind farm off the North Wales coast. The Gwynt y Mor development will start power production in 2012, subject to consent from onshore electricity works.

Paul Cowling, managing director of Npower renewables, welcomed Government approval for the scheme. “This is an important step towards realising this ambitious project. The decision underlines the Government’s commitment to massively expanding renewable energy generation in the UK to help tackle climate change and improve security of energy supply,” he said.

The Government’s approval of this new development is another step towards achieving their 2020 renewable energy targets and will also solidify the UK’s position as the leading nation in offshore wind energy production. Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Milliband said: “The North Wales coast is set to become a powerhouse for renewable energy,

“Gwynt y Mor will be the largest of four offshore wind farms which combined will have the potential to power the equivalent of around 680,000 homes with green electricity. The UK must clean up its energy supply to fight the damaging effects of climate change and more wind power will help us do this, we are leading the world in offshore wind.”

Also sharing Mr Milliband’s enthusiasm, a spokesman for the British Wind Energy Association said, “This is fantastic news. Gwynt y Mor is a landmark project both for Wales and the United Kingdom as a whole. It brings the total offshore projects with planning approval to 4.5GW. The momentum is now behind wind as a viable source of sustainable energy.”

Although the proposed development has achieved much support, some local politicians have been angered. Also many local people believe that they were not properly consulted before the project was allowed. Objectors to the wind farm also say that the sight of the turbines will ruin the views from the shore and could potentially damage tourism in the area.

The Plaid Cymru AM for Aberconwy, Gareth Jones, said: “This extraordinary decision by the Westminster Labour Government in London flies in the face of the democratically-expressed wishes of the people of Wales, who have been wholly ignored by a London minister who, I dare say, has not even been here to witness the visual impact for himself.”

 An Assembly Government spokesman responded to the allegations that locals were not consulted stating, “The Welsh Assembly Government did request a public inquiry into the Gwynt y Mor proposal on the grounds of its visual impact, especially in combination with the other three smaller offshore wind farms off the North Wales coast and taking into account Llandudno’s historic built environment.”

“Although our viewpoint was made clear – that the above issues should be tested via a public inquiry before ministers took their decision – those ministers are entirely within their rights to override our request and to arrive at a decision on the information before them. Now that the decision is made, Welsh companies should seek to capitalise on the opportunities that will arise from this huge project,” he added.