'This will irretrievably damage a nationally important landscape teeming with wildlife'
A huge solar farm would cover a vast area of the Gwent Levels
A Planning and Environment Decisions Wales hearing will this week decide whether a huge solar farm can be constructed at the Gwent Levels SSSI
(Image: John Myers )
The CEO of a charity working to protect one of Wales' most important areas of land has spoken of her fear about the impact of a major development being considered by the Welsh Government this week.
On Wednesday and Thursday Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) are considering proposals for a new solar farm at Wentlooge on the Gwent Levels site of special scientific interest (SSSI).
The application has been submitted by Wentlooge Farmers Solar Scheme Ltd, funded by Next Energy Capital, and would cover 318 acres of the Levels landscape. If approved it will be there for 40 years.
There is already one solar farm on the Levels border at Llanwern while there are another seven planning applications for further renewable energy developments in the pipeline for the Levels alone.
You can see a map below showing just how the applications could change the whole landscape of one of the country's most important landscapes.
CEO of the wildlife trust Natalie Buttriss told WalesOnline ahead of the first day of the PEDW hearing for the Wentlooge plans: 'If this gets approved we believe it will open the floodgates to all the other applications bubbling along in the pipeline and before you know it a third of the Levels landscape or more could be covered by solar panels and the like. It's a landscape that's taken millions of years to develop both from a biodiversity point of view but also culturally.
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'If development like this is allowed on SSSIs in Wales it will set a precedent. In terms of important landscapes and biodiversity corridors in Wales it opens doors to that not being valued or seen as important. It would just completely change the characteristics of the area for communities too.
'On one field you'd have giant solar panels and on the other you'd have a biodiverse criss-cross of waterways that it is at the moment. That's what people would see as they walked the Wales coastal path."
Map shows how applications for renewable development would cover the Levels
Solar farms which could soon be in or around the Gwent Levels
Future Energy Llanwern Land to the south of Llanwern Steelworks
Would be the biggest solar farm in Wales with the capacity to provide enough green energy to power more than 100,000 homes
Applicant is Future Energy Llanwern Ltd
Funded by Next Energy Capital
Potentially the UK's largest solar farm at 400 MW - enough to deliver 8% of Wales' household energy needs - covering approximately 2.5 square km
In the pre-application process - application will be determined by the UK Government because of its size
Craig y Perthi Solar Farm Surrounding the village of Bishton to the east and west
Erection of a solar farm comprising ground mounted, fixed position solar panels, with a combined installed generating capacity of up to 99.9 MW, underground cabling, grid connection, associated infrastructure, landscaping and environmental enhancements, for a period of up to 40 years
Applicant is RWE Renewables
Funded by RWE Renewables
334 acres, capacity to produce 99.9 megawatts
Planning application submitted and consultation period completed. The application is being examined by the Welsh Government and a decision is expected in April 2025
Rushwall Solar Park Rushwall Lane, Redwick
The installation of a solar park with an approximate design capacity of 75MW. Development includes ancillary electrical equipment and infrastructure, access tracks, security fencing and CCTV
Applicant is Rushwall Solar Park Ltd
Funded by BSR Energy
210 acres, capacity to produce 75 MW
Dismissed by the Welsh Government as potentially harmful to the landscape but decision overturned at judicial review and application expected to be redetermined by PEDW
Atlantic Eco Park Solar Farm Newton Road, Rumney
Installation of a solar park and ancillary development
Applicant is Atlantic Eco Park Ltd
Funded by Dauson Environmental Group
67 acres, capacity to produce 15 MW
Planning application at pre-submission stage
Wentlooge Renewables Energy Hub Land on the Wentlooge Levels to the west of Hawse Lane
Erection of a renewable energy hub comprising ground mounted solar panels, battery storage units (160 units) with a combined installed generating capacity of up to 125 MW, underground cabling, grid connection hub, associated infrastructure, landscaping and environmental enhancements for a temporary period of 40 years
Applicant is Wentlooge Farmers Solar Scheme Limited
Funded by Next Energy Capital
318 acres, capacity to produce 125 MW
Dismissed by the Welsh Government as potentially harmful to the landscape but decision overturned at judicial review and application expected to be redetermined by PEDW
Magor Net Zero Land south of Magor, Monmouthshire
Would power a linked green hydrogen plant to be constructed at the town's Budweiser brewery and decarbonise the brewery and its fleet of HGV delivery vehicles transporting beer around the UK
Applicant is Protium Green Solutions
Would generate approximately 15.3 MW from the 53-hectare solar farm with a 3.5MW, 105m-high wind turbine also on site. The solar farm would have 3,000 rows of 17 photovoltaic panels in eight groups. The linked electrolyser at the brewery would cover 5.3 hectares and house a 17.4 MW electrolyser and hydrogen and battery storage
Planning advice sought from Welsh Government
She added: 'We need to stress that we are not opposed to solar energy, simply that such developments need to be located on land where they will not irretrievably damage a nationally important and designated landscape, teeming with wildlife. It also needs to be stressed that only 12 per cent of Wales' total land area is made up of SSSIs, these small fragments should be sacrosanct. "
Developers have targeted the Levels because it is flat meaning it is easy to build on and attracts more sunlight than other areas.
They have also targeted the land because of the easy connection to the national grid hookup, excess energy from the now abandoned Llanwern steelworks, and the proximity to the M4 motorway.
Those reasons make it easier and cheaper for development companies to propose building on it without looking at other more costly options.
But the campaigners have long argued that no significant development of this nature should take place on the Levels.
Currently Welsh Government planning guidance on the issue of building on SSSIs in Wales states no-one should be allowed to build on SSSIs unless in wholly exceptional need.
Development companies argue that this is an emergency situation with Wales targeting net zero by 2030. Opposers to that say they've seen an opportunity to take a swathe of land in Wales and make money quickly and easily.
Campaigners say they are not against clean energy quickly but it needs to be situated in appropriate areas
(Image: John Myers )
Ms Buttriss explained: 'In one breath the Welsh Government is saying how wonderfully significant the Gwent Levels are for their biodiversity value and on the other the planning guidance is not saying: 'Do not develop on the Gwent Levels under any circumstances.' It's the 'under any circumstances' which we've been campaigning for.
'This isn't just a Gwent Levels issue, it's a Wales issue in protecting just 12% of the land designated as SSSI. There is another 88% of Wales which could be developed on with renewable energy.'
Ms Buttriss stressed that the trust is not against renewable energy. 'There is a global crisis, but it doesn't make sense to try and resolve one environmental biodiversity crisis by creating another," she explained.
A frosty morning over the Gwent Levels reveals a serene landscape, with shimmering frost crystals blanketing the wetlands, reflecting the soft hues of dawn
(Image: John Myers )
There is limited evidence currently showing the impact renewable development could have on the biodiversity of the Levels, but there is one case study which is important at Llanwern where a solar farm has been built. In the years since the development was finished at Llanwern evidence suggests lapwing and bat populations have disappeared.
Ms Buttriss added: 'We know that after several years of monitoring, and that's the Welsh Government monitoring, that mitigation isn't working."
She added: "This is a really special area which has been created over millennia.
"Each one of these ditches and waterways all has intricate ecosystems of different insects and plants and animals which has developed over hundreds and thousands of years and the microhabitats make it wonderful to watch.
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"It's a mosaic of different wildlife surviving from this quite complex development over the years. It's crucial we do everything we can to keep it that way."
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