Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm, at 96MW and 27 turbines is the largest onshore windfarm in RWE’s UK fleet, recently launched its economic impact assessment demonstrating the positive impact onshore wind farms can have on both regional and national economies.
The wind farm is located near Denbigh, is capable of providing renewable electricity equivalent to the needs of 63,800 UK homes, and was completed in 2020 with construction taking around 18 months. The principal contractor was Jones Brothers Civil Engineering UK, which is headquartered less than 10 miles from the site and well-placed to source local suppliers.
The report outlines that 43.4% of the overall supply chain expenditure during development and construction was spent in the UK and an additional 81p in expenditure was generated in the UK for every £1 invested.
The development and construction of Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm took 10 years with the associated Gross Value Added (GVA) calculated at £22.4m for the UK, supporting 416 full-time equivalent (FTE) job years. Another 42 jobs each year are supported in Wales through operations and maintenance of the wind farm alongside a skills development and training programme with apprentices.
Over the project lifetime an estimated £64.6m will go to local and national government and public sector bodies for fees, services and tax.
The wind farm has the largest of RWE’s Community Funds, worth over £19 million over the lifetime of the project which is expected to be around 25 years. In addition, we estimate the Fund could generate an additional c£9 million in GVA. Most importantly the Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm Fund could create up to 917 full time equivalent jobs in the area of benefit around the site over its lifetime.
Cathal Hennessy, Head of Onshore Development UK & Ireland said: ”RWE ensures that it works closely with local communities throughout the development of renewable projects; to ensure there is a long-lasting benefit from the delivery of its projects to the local area, as well as to the environment.
“This economic report demonstrates that not only can onshore wind projects add value to the economy and support skilled jobs beyond operations, but will support local communities through the Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm Fund so they can prosper for years to come.”
The UK plays a key role in RWE’s strategy to grow its renewables business and to become carbon neutral by 2040 with around 2 GW of onshore wind in development across Wales and Scotland.
To see the full report see here.
RWE is also developing proposals for two more wind farms close to Clocaenog, at Alwen Forest and at Gaerwen.
