UK: Plans to produce power from the sun on Carmarthen wind farm site

In a newsletter to local people near to Castle Lloyd Farm, the Swedish energy firm said it wanted to develop and generate electricity from an array of solar panels, known as photovoltaic cells, from a 21 acre site close to Vattenfall’s Parc Cynog Wind Farm, but first it would need planning permission to do so.

The array would have an installed capacity of up to 5MW and be capable of generating enough power every year to meet the equivalent annual electricity demand of 1,441 Carmarthenshire households. The site is also used for sheep grazing and this can continue unhindered by the array.

Daniel Wills, Vattenfall’s Associate Project Manager for the Parc Cynog Solar Array, said: “We’re keen to assess the potential of solar power on the Parc Cynog site. We want to explore the full renewables potential of this site and see what’s possible to support Wales’ ambitious green energy plans and targets.

“Also, we want to explore how the local community can benefit. So along with the development of the array, we will ask local people how solar power can help the local community.”

Although work to develop the solar park is in the early stages Vattenfall plans to submit a planning application to Carmarthenshire County Council towards the end of summer 2015. Vattenfall will involve local residents and community groups throughout the process.

In addition to Vattenfall exploring the solar potential on Parc Cynog, the energy firm is keen to support local efforts towards producing more sustainable energy. This means Vattenfall would like to help the local community by installing solar PV panels on local community buildings at no cost to local residents and groups.