Key facts:

Project overview

Garn Fach Wind Farm is an 85MW onshore wind farm south of Newtown, Powys, and is being developed by EDF Renewables UK.
Dulas was proud to be a part of Garn Fach’s recent planning approval, as this is a landmark site for the future of Welsh renewable energy. Securing planning permission took around seven years and has been a considerable team effort, from Dulas and from our colleagues at Eversheds Sutherland and Savills, alongside many others, all of whom supported the EDF Renewables team in this project.

Dulas played a key role from day one, providing crucial consultancy and planning services throughout. This included Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) project management and coordination, where we carried out a range of ecology, ornithology, hydrology, and noise pollution surveys, to help protect local wildlife and the unique habitat of deep peatland.

We also supported with the design and build of the meteorological mast, including its datalogger and power supply, which you can learn more about here.

Impact

The 85MW, 17 turbine Garn Fach Wind Farm will generate enough clean energy to power approximately 69,000 UK homes annually.

Beyond renewable energy generation, the project will bring significant benefits to the local community. Plans include the creation of new footpaths and cycle tracks, a visitor car park, and habitat enhancements to boost biodiversity. A community benefit fund linked to the wind farm will contribute over £10 million to local projects and initiatives throughout the wind farm’s lifetime.

Garn Fach Wind Farm represents a vital step forward in the transition to clean energy, delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits for Wales and beyond.

Challenges and solutions

The project was a significant milestone for wind energy in Wales, as it will hopefully unlock future developments on peatland. Because Garn Fach is one of the first approved developments on Welsh peatland, there were many additional steps and considerations the Dulas team had to take into account.

Garn Fach is a complicated project with many different stakeholders, so required a strong core team with relevant experience and the agility to quickly respond to changes in policy. As a Welsh business with extensive knowledge of the national planning system and a passion for our local environment and economy, Dulas was well-placed to offer the flexibility and expertise a complex job like Garn Fach required.

Our consultancy support also enabled the team to overcome various mid-project changes in guidelines, including when the new Planning Policy Wales (PPW) regulations were introduced in February 2024.

We worked with a range of national bodies and local interest groups to ensure that the irreplaceable peatland habitat would be protected – both during the construction of the wind farm, and over the course of its lifetime.
In addition to these environmental factors, there were 15 landowners involved in the planning for Garn Fach, an unusually high number for projects like these. This also required additional consideration, as part of the infrastructure for the wind farm is built on common land, which also needed separate planning approval.

Natural Resources Wales (NRW) estimates that 90% of deep peatland in Wales is in poor condition. Healthy peatland acts as a natural carbon sink, helping to absorb carbon, reducing the amount in the atmosphere. However, when damaged, the carbon held in the peat is released into the atmosphere, with the opposite effect. Protection efforts for deep peatland were key to securing planning permission for Garn Fach, safeguarding the unique Welsh landscape while helping to reach our Net Zero targets.

As well as its role as a natural carbon sink, peatland is also a unique habitat for many species of plants and animals. It is vital that while we continue efforts to meet the demand for clean energy, we do it consciously, and in a way that protects Wales’ unique landscape and habitats. This is exactly what EDF Renewables and the Dulas team have worked to achieve with the mindful site design of Garn Fach.

*Dependent upon the composition of fuel types (gas, nuclear, renewables etc) in UK energy production at the time of estimation.