Brechfa Forest wind farm connection to be phased

Western Power Distribution (WPD) has announced that its proposed 132,000 volt connection will now only connect Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm to the electricity network.  This means the connection will be shorter in length.

The announcement follows a request by RWE Innogy UK Ltd (RWE), the developer of the wind farms, to defer the connection between Brechfa Forest East and Brechfa Forest West wind farms.

The proposed connection that WPD will now take forward will be between Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm and the connection point near Llandyfaelog, 10km south of Carmarthen only. The route between Brechfa Forest West and Brechfa Forest East wind farms, which is approximately 16km in length, will not form part of WPD’s forthcoming consultation on the proposed scheme or its application for a development consent order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. 

A connection for the Brechfa Forest East Wind Farm will be consulted upon separately in the future, once RWE advises that it is ready for WPD to do so, and will require a separate consent to build.

Andrew Hubbold at WPD said:

“The request by RWE to only progress the connection for Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm at the moment means that when we carry out the third and final stage of consultation later this year it will be for a shorter connection and therefore fewer people will be potentially affected.

“WPD must now focus on presenting the best connection for Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm.”

Following this phase of consultation, an application for a DCO will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate next year.  The Planning Inspectorate will make a recommendation to the Secretary of State who will make a decision on the application.