The most recent newsletter for the Awel y Môr windfarm is available from the Awel y Môr website here. The newsletter provides an update on the UK Planning Inspectorate’s examination of the application for a Development Consent Order, which is summarised below.
Consenting Process Update
The proposed windfarm will require consent from both the UK and Welsh Governments. Although the consenting processes will run in parallel, there are some differences in timescales and opportunities for getting involved, outlined below.
UK Government: Development Consent Order
One of the consents required for the project will be a “Development Consent Order” (DCO), issued by the UK Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
A detailed application for the Awel y Môr windfarm DCO was submitted to the UK Planning Inspectorate in April 2022. It was accepted for consideration at the end of May, after which we circulated an update on progress and information about how to get involved in the examination of this application.
In September 2022 the Planning Inspectorate’s panel of experts held its hearings for the DCO in Llandudno. They are now reviewing the application, a process that is expected to take six months. At the end of this period this panel has 3 further months to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State on whether to refuse or grant consent. The Secretary of State has a further 3 months to take their decision.
Further details of this process, including a timeline that shows the current status of the project, are set out in the newsletter that can be downloaded here.
Welsh Government: Marine Licence
The windfarm will require a “Marine Licence” as well as the DCO described above. In Welsh Territorial waters, Marine Licences are issued by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) on behalf of the Welsh Government.
The application for a Marine Licence was submitted to NRW on 30th May 2022. Since then, NRW’s marine licensing team have carried out a technical consultation with regulators and statutory consultees which was concluded by 18th August 2022.
The next step will be for NRW to raise any questions from these consultations with the Awel y Môr project team, after which there may be further questions and further consultations. The Awel y Môr project team hope that the decision on the Marine Licence will be taken around a month after the DCO application, in 2024.
About the proposed windfarm
If approved, the Awel y Môr windfarm would be built around six miles off the North Wales coast, to the west of the existing Gwynt y Môr windfarm. Awel y Môr would be connected to the National Grid by an export cable coming ashore between Rhyl and Prestatyn. The proposed windfarm would include up to 50 wind turbines. It could generate enough power for up to half a million homes, and it will be the largest renewable energy investment in Wales in this decade.
Full project details and maps of the windfarm location are available at the project website awelymor.cymru.