Latest Project Updates
Update - February 2012.
Local Taff Ely school pilots new green learning resource
Hendreforgan County Primary School, at the foot of Taff Ely Wind Farm, has become one of the first in Wales to test-drive a new package of curriculum linked environmental education resources, commissioned and made freely available online to schools by RWE npower renewables.
The materials have been independently produced by environmental education specialists Rowanbank and support schools teaching about sustainability and renewable energy.
View a selection of photos from the education day
The School overlooks Taff Ely Wind Farm - one of the oldest operating wind farms in Wales - and has already demonstrated a strong commitment to understanding sustainability and renewable energy. It was awarded its first Eco-schools Green Flag in January 2010 and received a second Green Flag award as part of its annual review in January.
Headteacher Kevin Stroud said: “Our children are really passionate about their environment, and as a staff we are very committed to ensuring that our children grow up with the knowledge and the skills to do their part in looking after our planet. We are very proud of ourfirst Green Flag award and are absolutely delighted with our second award - we will continue to further our efforts to work towards the motto ‘Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.”
Specialists from Rowanbank visited the school, and delivered the course materials to around 50 pupils from years 5 and 6. A combination of fun and learning are included in the plans, while educational materials concentrate on the core topics around sustainability and renewable energy, as well as the challenges facing the planet today in dealing with pollution, climate change and the use of resources. Lesson plans have been devised to support teachers at all key stages, with supporting notes and information, using a range of fun but informative activities to help reinforce the key curriculum learning points
The materials are available in Welsh and English language, and can be downloaded for free off the internet, through the website: www.npower-renewables.com/educationresources
Katy Woodington, community investment officer, at RWE npower renewables explained: “We are passionate about renewable energy’ and want to share this passion with young people, helping them to understand more about the different technologies, how they work, and why we need them”.
“Equally, as experts in the field of renewables, we have an extensive knowledge of the industry and its background, and we had a real desire to support teachers in delivering the curriculum around these topics. The materials include impartial, factual information on renewable technologies, climate change and what young people can do to make a difference. They also have lots of fun interactive ideas to help teachers deliver these topics in the classroom.
Not only are these high quality education materials, backed up with clear information, but it was crucial to us that they are also available through the medium of the Welsh language.”
Rowanbank Environmental Education is a not-for-profit organisation, working with communities and organisations to reduce the effects of climate change and build a sustainable future.Rowanbank specialises in developing interactive curriculum linked education materials and workshops for school children. (www.rowanbank.org.uk)
If you would like to know more about the education materials on offer, visit the website at: www.npower-renewables.com/educationresources
We are progressing well with plans to submit a potential planning application for Taff Ely Wind Farm to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council by the end of the year (2011).
The application is being finalised now, and will be for a wind farm of seven turbines, with an installed capacity of between 14 and 17.5 MW. The wind farm could potentially be capable of generating enough electricity to supply the average annual electricity needs of up to 9,700 UK homes each year1.
Our final submission is being prepared following a period of public engagement, in early October 2011, when two days of public exhibitions where hosted by the company at Hendreforgan School, Gilfach Goch, and which overlooks the current wind farm.
The event was publicised through the distribution of some 10,000+ newsletters to local homes, publication of posters and adverts, and in newspaper articles. Over 60 people from the local community attended and were able to find out about plans for the decommissioning of the old wind farm, development of the new wind farm, and offer ideas on how best to proceed with an upwardly revised future Community Benefits Package, should the repowered wind farm be approved.
Our full range of detailed environmental surveys into the impact of repowering the existing wind farm, have now been concluded and will be fully detailed in an Environmental Statement to accompany the planning application. This document is nearing completion and will be publicly available following submission, from the local authority.
In addition to our environmental studies, feedback from the exhibitions and from individual submissions has also contributed to our considerations and the design of the final planning proposal.
FOOTNOTE:
1 Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area. This enables a calculation to be made to estimate the average annual energy production for the site based on 7 turbines each of rated capacity of between 2 and 2.5 MW. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further data are gathered.
Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4700 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household estimates and projections from the UK Statistics Authority.
