Thursday, March 17, 2011
Richard Summers visits wind developer's sustainable
headquarters before the RTPI's Spring Conference
Wales-based wind energy developer West Coast Energy played host
to the President of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Richard
Summers at its Mold headquarters yesterday (14 March). The
President visited the onshore wind developer's offices, Mynydd Awel
- dubbed the most sustainable commercial building in Wales - as
part of his visit to Wales and en route to the RTPI Cymru Spring
Conference, being held today in Llandudno.
West Coast Energy moved into their £2M eco office building in the
summer of 2009, and the office has already received prestigious
environmental awards, including BREEAM Excellent Status and Best
Sustainability Awards at the Local Authority Building Control
Awards. West Coast Energy has submitted a planning application to
Flintshire County Council for an onsite wind turbine which if
permitted will allow the building to generate its own electricity
and become self-sufficient.
The RTPI President commented: "This new building demonstrates
West Coast Energy's commitment to the environment and to reducing
their carbon footprint. It is an excellent example of sustainable
construction and is a beacon for others to follow. I was impressed
with several aspects, not least the sedum roof and the local
sourcing of as many building and landscaping materials as
possible."
Richard Summers' visit to the West Coast Energy site kicks off
the RTPI Cymru's Spring Conference, which will
focus on the role planning can play in economic renewal for Wales.
The conference, chaired by the RTPI President, will hear from the
Assembly Government, businesses and practitioners on a range of
economic development and spatial planning including green jobs in
the renewables sector.
West Coast Energy's Planning & Development Manager Jonathan
Cawley will be one of the keynote speakers at the conference,
speaking on the role of planning in supporting green jobs and the
green economy, and on the decisions businesses can take to harness
the green economy for their own benefit.
Cawley comments: "Wind power's contribution to the Welsh economy
is significant, and will continue to help push the country's
economic revival through the creation of a highly skilled
workforce, as well as being the main driver for achieving Wales'
renewable energy targets. The challenging objectives Wales has been
set for renewable energy growth will require complete commitment
from local authorities, and we very much look forward to discussing
how planning can support the Wales' green economy at tomorrow's
conference.
Stephen Salt, West Coast Energy's Planning & Development
Director comments: "We are very grateful to the RTPI President for
visiting our Mold headquarters and are obviously extremely pleased
that he was impressed with what he saw. With onshore wind farm
development being part of our core business, we believed it was
important that we made a public commitment to invest in developing
a low carbon office building to reflect our core environmental
values. We sincerely hope this becomes a flagship building in
Flintshire and the wider region."
