Local Benefits

At RWE npower renewables, we recognise we have a responsibility towards the communities in which we operate, and seek to develop partnerships which help build trust with those communities.

If we receive consent on Brechfa Forest West, RWE npower renewables will deliver a community benefits package designed to meet the needs of the local community that will be worth around £350,000 each year that the site is operational (final amount will depend upon final installed capacity).

This funding can provide a long term, sustainable and reliable source of income for your community. It is flexible and that can address what is really important to your local area and has the potential to fund large and small projects as well as capital and revenue activities.

We welcome your ideas and suggestions about how a community benefit package could be structured and priorities it should address, at any time. However at a later and more appropriate point in the project development process, we will begin a full and thorough dialogue with the local community, to determine how a Community Benefits package could work best for the local area.

This would be entirely independent of the planning process, because the offer of a Community Benefits package is not a material planning consideration.
In addition, the wind farm could potentially generate new business opportunities for local companies involved in the wind farm supply chain, both during construction and operational phases of the project.

We would aim to work with the supply chain in the future, to help them better understand how best to engage with the companies like ourselves, to take advantage of such opportunities.

RWE npower renewables has a long track record in delivering benefits for the communities in which it operates and we look forward to exploring what the priorities might be for people living near to the Brechfa Forest.

Welsh Assembly Planning Policy for Renewable Energy (TAN 8) clearly explains that “experience has shown that there are opportunities to achieve community benefits through major wind farm development.”

The policy also states that “It is perfectly acceptable for a business to enter into a legally binding agreement with third parties to deliver particular and agreed benefits to the community.”Watch out for more information about the process and how you can get involved locally through the media, our website and other local communication channels. For more information about our approach to Community Benefits, visit the ‘Benefits’ section of our website.