Community energy opportunities across Powys

Client: Severn Wye Energy Agency
Project: Powys Community Energy Feasibility Study
Delivered by: Dulas Ltd

Dulas supported Severn Wye Energy Agency with a county wide feasibility study exploring the potential for community owned solar PV projects across five Powys locations: Llanfyllin, Llangattock, Llanidloes, Newtown and Rhayader. The work assessed technical deliverability, grid connection opportunities, planning constraints, site ownership, community readiness, and commercial viability to identify which projects could progress towards investment and construction.

The challenge: Powys has strong potential for locally owned renewable energy, but each prospective site presented different constraints. Ground mounted projects required careful consideration of land suitability, planning risk, grid export limits, and community governance. Roof mounted opportunities needed assessment of building condition, electricity demand, commercial agreements, and grid capacity. Severn Wye Energy Agency also needed a clear evidence base to prioritise the most deliverable and financially robust opportunities.

Dulas’ approach: Dulas combined site appraisal, energy yield modelling, grid connection review, planning risk assessment and financial modelling to compare a wide range of solar PV options. The study considered both standalone export-led projects and behind-the-meter (BTM) systems linked to local electricity users, including opportunities for Energy Local Clubs, community share ownership models, and Smart Local Energy Systems.

Key findings: The study found that all five locations had potential, but with various levels of readiness and commercial strength. Llangattock emerged as the most advanced community led ground mounted project, supported by an established local organisation and a potential battery storage opportunity. Newtown offered the strongest commercial opportunity overall, with large roof-mounted PV systems on industrial buildings and high levels of onsite electricity use. Llanidloes presented a smaller but deliverable opportunity, particularly if connected to a neighbouring electricity offtaker. Rhayader provided several viable next stage options across commercial, public sector and community owned sites. Llanfyllin remained technically viable with further development of land, planning, community governance, and funding arrangements.

Impact: The feasibility study gave Severn Wye Energy Agency and local stakeholders a practical roadmap for progressing community energy across Powys. It identified where grant support would be needed, where community finance could be viable, and which projects should be prioritised for further development. The work also captured transferable lessons for future solar PV screening, including the importance of project scale, roof condition, planning context, grid capacity, and site consumption data.

Next steps: Recommended next actions include securing heads of terms with landowners and electricity offtakers, confirming grid connection capacity through formal applications, refining commercial models with updated market pricing, progressing planning or lawful development processes, and preparing community investment materials where appropriate.