Monday, October 24, 2011
Flintshire-based Independent onshore wind developer West Coast
Energy, the name behind over 600 Megawatts of wind energy capacity
in the UK, has reaffirmed its commitment to development in Wales,
and is seeking dialogue with the Assembly Government to help in the
formulation of a longer term policy that will look beyond the 2GW
2020, and support long-term investment decisions and a fairer
marketplace.
With only an estimated 120MW of capacity outside of Wales'
Strategic Search Areas (see below) between now and 2020, West Coast
Energy believes that the market is being unfairly biased against
independent and UK companies like itself, and further says that it
is these relatively smaller developers that are at the cutting edge
of the community involvement that will be the key to planning
approvals. Without their participation, the future success of
the Welsh longer-term onshore wind strategy is in doubt.
"We trust that the Assembly will address this unexpected
consequence of its policy in the near future," says West Coast
Energy Managing Director Rob Tate.
In Wales, wind farm policy is dominated by the Strategic Search
Areas of TAN 8 that have tended to favour larger multinational
developers on large scale sites, rather than a home-grown entity.
Therefore, historically a large proportion of West Coast Energy's
business has been on wind farm sites outside Wales, while within
Wales it has focussed on smaller (<25MW installed capacity, but
more typically <10MW installed capacity) sites outside SSAs.
Successful development involves three parties -
developers/landowners, local communities and the Government that
sets the agenda. With a track record of 21 sites with potential to
deliver 600MW, West Coast Energy has an experienced team,
delivering technical excellence in site identification, design,
planning and development of wind energy projects. Such are the
company's credentials as a partner, that it has already been chosen
as development partner in schemes in England, Scotland and Wales
that add up to another 800MW capacity. The West Coast Group
has also built up a portfolio in Poland that exceeds 500MW.
The upside of this is the expertise that West Coast Energy has
in working closely with communities to produce significant economic
and community boosts to rural areas. The developer has been
involving communities in wind farm development through both
community development funds and community ownership of
projects. This emphasis on involving the community and
exploring the potential for local community involvement and wider
benefits, associated with wind farm development, is central to
WCE's current investment plans across the UK, and the company is
confident that its models can be rolled-out for projects in Wales;
for the benefit of Wales!
Visit us at stand 287 at RenewableUK 2011 in
Mancherster 25-27 October to find out more.
