Plans for more than a hundred wind turbines in the Cambrian Mountains of mid-Wales are drawing strong opposition from conservation groups. The turbines, measuring up to 230 metres tall, would be built across nearly 500 square miles of remote moorland and uplands, an area described as one of Britain's wildest landscapes. The projects, backed by the UK and Welsh governments, would require extensive infrastructure including concrete foundations, roads, and over 200km of pylons.
The Wild Wales Trust has warned the developments would 'degrade and industrialise huge areas of the uplands and valleys', and could infringe Wales's only Unesco biosphere in the Dyfi valley. The Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales also strongly opposes the plans. Local protests have been hampered by the sparse population of the Cambrian region, leaving few residents to speak in defence of the landscape.
Proposed turbine heights of 220-230 metres are significantly taller than any yet seen in England and Wales, with each requiring a 2,000-tonne concrete foundation and at least 100 tonnes of steel. Carbon costs from construction are anticipated to be considerable, and the turbines have an estimated lifespan of only 20 to 25 years before replacement.
Wales is already a net exporter of energy and making progress toward renewable self-sufficiency, raising questions about the necessity of these turbines, which are primarily intended to supply power for the rest of the UK. Critics compare the situation to the flooding of Welsh valleys in the 1960s to provide water for Liverpool.
