The proposed Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm would be situated approximately 15 kilometres (9 miles) north of Swansea, South Wales.

The site is within the administrative boundary of The City and County of Swansea. It comprises approximately 473 hectares of grazed moorland owned by the Somerset Trust.

Following a detailed assessment of wind energy potential in South Wales, Mynydd y Gwair was identified as offering one of the best opportunities for providing a substantial contribution to clean energy generation from onshore wind in South Wales.

Mynydd y Gwair has the following key characteristics which help towards the development of a successful wind farm scheme:

• Strong and persistent winds resulting in high electricity generation output from the turbines
• A large land area allowing a wind farm design with good separation distances of around 800 metres (approximately half a mile) from the nearest inhabited properties
• Access to the existing road network, an important consideration during the construction period
• It is outside international and national designations for landscape and ecology
• Close proximity to the electricity distribution system
• Existing land use (grazing) is compatible with the development of a wind farm

The majority of Mynydd y Gwair lies within one of the areas (Area E) identified by the Welsh Assembly Government in its draft Technical Advice Note 8 (TAN 8), considered most suitable at a strategic level for large-scale wind farms.

The exact details of the Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm proposal will not be finalised until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the site and the relevant consultations have been completed. The EIA involves studying the site in great detail, looking at issues such as visual impact, social and economic impacts, noise, nature conservation and cultural heritage. The results of the environmental assessment will be presented in the form of an Environmental Statement submitted along with the application for consent, both of which will be made available to the public.

The proposal, as currently envisaged, will comprise around 19 turbines, each with a capacity of between 2 and 3 megawatts, and measuring up to a height of 127 metres to the tip of the highest blade. It is estimated that the wind farm would have a total installed electrical capacity of between 38 and 57 megawatts.

Taking into account periods of low winds, very high winds and time for maintenance work, the Mynydd y Gwair Wind Farm would generate enough clean electricity each year to supply the average needs of about 28,000 homes¹. This clean electricity would make a significant contribution towards the amount of renewable energy generated in South Wales.

Notes:
1. Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and applying trends from npower renewables' existing wind farm portfolio located across the UK. This enables a calculation to be made to estimate the average annual energy production based on 19 turbines each of rated capacity 2.5MW. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further information is gathered.

Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4700 kWh, which is derived from a total UK domestic electricity consumption of 117.589 terawatt-hours (TWh) (The Digest of UK Energy Statistics 2005) and 25.2 million UK households (Mid-year Household Estimates published in 2004 by the Office for National Statistics).

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