Plans submitted for Mynydd Ty-talwyn Energy Park near Bridgend and Port Talbot

Plans to develop a major renewable energy site between the counties of Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot have been handed to the Welsh Government for a decision.
If approved they could eventually see the creation of the Mynydd Ty-talwyn Energy Park located 4km north of Bridgend and 8km east of Port Talbot, close to the village of Tondu and the Craig-yr-Aber Woodland.
Once completed it would include a total of six wind turbines with a maximum height to blade tip of 200m.
Additionally it would house a series of ground-mounted solar panels capable of generating more than 93MW of renewable energy in total.
Wider infrastructure developments at the site would include a new substation compound with control building fencing and CCTV, upgraded and new access tracks, watercourse and pipeline crossings, highway junctions, and highway remedial works.
The plans were handed in by renewable energy developer Galileo Empower for the land that would cover an area of roughly 578 hectares.
As they are considered a development of national significance they will be decided by Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (Pedw), the Welsh Government division that manages applications for public land use and major infrastructure projects.
However there has also been some opposition to the plans revealed in a pre-application consultation that saw a total of 99 responses.
These raised a number of concerns over the visual impact of the development, especially regarding turbine height, as well as the potential disruptions it could have to local wildlife and nature.
Others worried about the potential for noise and a loss of of walking and mountain biking routes in the area along with further concerns over access to the site and traffic.
In response the applicant said they had reduced the number of turbines from the initially planned 10 to six, as well as reducing the height of the units from 230m to tip height to 200m to tip height, in order to reduce the visual impact.
Then plans will now be decided by Pedw in the coming months with the operational life of the site expected to last for 50 years from the date of commissioning. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

%gallery% ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​