Windfall for community wind farm
Acommunity wind farm project has received a £5.25m investment from a major European ethical investment bank.
The Awel y Gwrhyd community wind farm near Swansea has secured the 15-year loan from Triodos Bank.
The wind farm is located on Mynydd y Gwrhyd, close to the town of Pontardawe, about 20 miles north of Swansea. Owned by local community society Awel Co-op, the project consists of two 2.35 megawatt Enercon wind turbines.
It began operating in January and is expected to generate an estimated 12,558 megawatt hours of low-carbon energy a year, enough to supply over 2,000 homes.
The investment in the former coalmining community follows an extensive due diligence process.
Dan McCallum, one of Awel Coop’s directors, said: “We are delighted that Triodos, the leading sustainable bank in the UK, has decided to provide us with a 15-year loan. Triodos has been a key backer of the UK’s very exciting community energy sector for many years and this is the first time that they’ve been able to invest in an energy co-op in Wales.”
The venture has raised a further £2.26m through a local share offer which will, in part, enable it to refinance a Welsh Government loan of £1.2m. It has decided to extend the share offer to the end of July or until it hits its £3m target.
Mr McCallum added: “We want to acknowledge the critical role that Welsh Government played in providing us with initial bridging finance of £3.55m that helped to get our project built. This has not only enabled us to undertake our share offer, which has so far raised £2.26m, but has also helped us in securing finance from Triodos.”
The project is backed by Hollywood star Michael Sheen, who hails from Port Talbot, Welsh rugby legend Paul Thorburn, National Poet of Wales Gillian Clarke and Paul Allen of the Centre for Alternative Energy in Machynlleth, Powys.
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Triodos been operating in the UK for over 22 years and lends money to organisations that are seen as making a positive difference socially, culturally or environmentally.
The bank lends over £700m to groups and projects including charities, community schemes, social housing providers, organic farmers, homelessness programmes and renewable energy projects.
Mr McCallum said: “All our profits, estimated to be £3m over 20 years, will be ploughed into further lowcarbon projects in our community. We want our wind farm to be owned by as many people, charities and community groups as possible – it’s fantastic that you can co-own a wind farm from £50.”