Latest news with #Wales-wide
South Wales Argus
15-07-2025
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Publicly-owned renewable energy developer powers ahead
The farms will have the potential to generate up to 400 MW of clean electricity – enough to power 350,000 Welsh homes' annual average electricity needs, which is around a quarter of the homes in Wales. The first three proposed sites are: Clocaenog Dau Wind Farm, Denbighshire/Conwy (up to 132 MW) Glyn Cothi Wind Farm, Carmarthenshire (up to 162 MW) Carreg Wen Wind Farm, Rhondda Cynon Taf (up to 108 MW) Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru operates solely in the interests of Wales, with all profits generated reinvested in Welsh communities and public services. It is estimated the developments will create hundreds of jobs during construction and operation, with Trydan committed to involving Welsh companies throughout the process. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru's chief executive, Richard Evans, said: 'As a Wales-wide developer, we can commit to nation-wide, strategic programmes, such as habitat management and restoration, and we look forward to working with stakeholders to define ambitious, long-term enhancements.'
Business News Wales
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
Publicly Owned Renewable Energy Developer Announces First Projects
The publicly owned renewable energy developer for Wales, Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru, has announced proposals for three new wind farms with the potential to generate up to 400 MW of clean electricity. That would be enough to provide the annual average electricity needs of 350,000 Welsh homes – around a quarter of the homes in Wales. In the first project announcement since Trydan's launch in 2024, the schemes will help meet the growing need for clean energy in Wales with electricity demand projected to nearly triple by 2050, the Welsh Government said. Trydan aims to develop 1 GW of new renewable energy generation capacity on Welsh public land by 2040. The first three proposed sites are: Clocaenog Dau Wind Farm, Denbighshire/Conwy (up to 132 MW) Glyn Cothi Wind Farm, Carmarthenshire (up to 162 MW) Carreg Wen Wind Farm, Rhondda Cynon Taf (up to 108 MW) All profits generated by Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru reinvested in Welsh communities and public services. The wind farms will be developed on the Welsh Government's woodland estate, which covers 126,000 hectares – 6% of Wales' total land area – and according to Welsh Government contains some of the country's best potential sites for renewable energy generation. Cutting Wales' carbon emissions is a key commitment of the Welsh Government, which aims for Wales to generate enough renewable electricity to meet 70% of what's used in Wales by 2030, rising to 100% by 2035. The Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans said: 'These proposals demonstrate our commitment to harnessing Wales' abundant natural resources to generate clean energy while ensuring the benefits are felt locally. 'By developing these projects on the Welsh Government Woodland Estate, we're making best use of our public land to tackle the climate emergency and create sustainable economic opportunities.' It is estimated the developments will create hundreds of jobs during construction and operation, with Trydan committed to involving Welsh companies throughout the process. More renewable energy projects are in development and will be announced later this year. Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru's Chief Executive, Richard Evans, said: 'With Trydan driving development, and with the profits from this investment retained in Wales, we have a unique opportunity to optimise the projects and the multiple benefits they bring. 'In parts of Wales suitable for infrastructure installations, and across Wales, working with delivery partners we will create and support quality, direct and indirect jobs in the renewable energy sector and supply chains, and contribute to skills initiatives. Communities will be involved and funding will support local priorities. 'As a Wales-wide developer, we can commit to nation-wide, strategic programmes, such as habitat management and restoration, and we look forward to working with stakeholders to define ambitious, long-term enhancements.'
Leader Live
03-07-2025
- Automotive
- Leader Live
1,400 potholes fixed in three days on A494 Mold bypass
The Welsh Government said the recent resurfacing work on the A494 Mold bypass has extended its the life "by up to a decade", improving "safety and reducing the risk of damage" for all road users. The road had suffered from years of wear and tear due to increasing traffic and the impact of severe weather. Using innovative resurfacing techniques, the work was completed in just three days. (Image: Welsh Government) The Mold bypass scheme is part of the Welsh Government's Wales-wide programme to resurface and strengthen roads. An additional £25m fund, alongside support through the Local Government Borrowing Initiative, will deliver improvements to an additional 700km of roads by March 2026. MORE NEWS: The programme is focused on roads in the greatest need of repair, with more than 200,000 potholes set to be fixed or prevented, and improvements made to pavements across the country. The Welsh Government has invested £1bn fixing and improving roads across Wales since 2021. Ken Skates, cabinet secretary for Transport and North Wales, visited the completed scheme in Mold to see the results of the investment first-hand. He said: "It has been great to see such high-quality work delivered so quickly on this important route for North Wales. I would like to thank everyone who has played their part in helping us to deliver this project. "Fixing our roads is a key priority for us and we're delivering on our promise to rebuild and maintain the infrastructure that communities across Wales rely on every day. This work doesn't just reduce the risk of damage to vehicles; it improves road safety and supports local economies by keeping people and goods moving."
Wales Online
28-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Council might have to spend £65,000 on every single one of its homes
Council might have to spend £65,000 on every single one of its homes It's an estimate at this stage but upgrading the housing stock won't be cheap Council flats at Swansea's Griffith John Street, where significant investment is planned (Image: Wales Online ) Swansea Council may have to spend an average of £65,000 on every one one of its houses, flats and bungalows to meet a new housing standard, a meeting heard. Cllr Andrea Lewis, deputy leader of the authority, said that without additional Welsh Government money it will be "difficult if not impossible" to achieve. Swansea is one of several councils which have retained their housing stock, and it has previously spent more than £500 million years to comply with a Wales-wide quality standard for social housing. This resulted in things like new kitchens, bathrooms, boilers and insulation upgrades for its homes, improving life for tenants. A new housing quality standard has been developed by the Welsh Government, which includes high energy efficiency ratings coupled with minimal environmental impacts. The idea is to decarbonise social housing - reducing Wales' greenhouse gas emissions - by further upgrading insulation, adding solar panels and replacing gas boilers with heat pumps, for example. The Welsh Government said social housing would be comfortable, affordable to heat and safe as a result. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here A report before the council's cabinet said every property will need a report capturing their existing energy efficiency rating, called a targeted energy pathway. These targeted energy pathways will help shape which upgrades are needed. Cllr Lewis said achieving the new standard was now estimated to cost the authority £900 million. Given that there are just over 13,800 council flats, houses and bungalows, this works out roughly as £65,000 per property, although some will need more work than others. Article continues below Energy efficient council bungalows in West Cross (Image: Richard Youle ) Four years ago, a council report estimated that decarbonising the housing stock could cost around £350 million - a year later another council report put it at £750 million. "Essentially we support the Welsh Government's ambition to improve the quality of our (housing) stock in terms of energy efficiency for the benefit of our tenants, but without additional further funding this will be difficult if not impossible to carry out," said Cllr Lewis. Cabinet went on to approve a policy setting out how it intended to meet and monitor the new housing standard, which it will submit to the Welsh Government, at the June 26 meeting. The council will need to produce the targeted energy pathways for properties by the end of March 2027, and ensure all homes meet a certain energy efficiency standard - the equivalent of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) C rating - three years later. EPC ratings go from A, the highest, to G, the lowest. Full compliance with the housing standard is 2034, and by then the council's stock needs to meet a higher environmental target - the equivalent of an EPC A rating. Councils use tenants' rents, borrowed money and Welsh Government grants to upgrade their housing, not council tax. Council leader Rob Stewart said it aimed to meet the new standard but that he didn't think any local authority would be able to do so without external help. Cardiff Council has estimated it would cost £866 million to achieve it. There is also the question of finding enough skilled contractors to carry out the work. The Welsh Government said Swansea Council was allocated £14 million last year to help repair, upgrade and retrofit its properties, and that its grants alone were never intended to fund full compliance with the standard. It said it has offered to support the social housing sector investigate market solutions. Article continues below It added: "Last year, we committed a record £256 million on improving the quality of social homes in Wales, including their energy efficiency, through a mixture of grants and low interest loans available to local authorities and social landlords."
Wales Online
20-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Recycling in Swansea hailed a success story and this is why
Recycling in Swansea hailed a success story and this is why The maximum three black bags a fortnight rule was a 'huge, brave step' says council officer All Swansea's recycling is taken here to the baling plant in Llansamlet (Image: Swansea Council ) Swansea is the best city for recycling in Wales and this is partly due to a "brave" decision to limit the number of black bags people can put out, councillors have been told. Swansea Council's current recycling rate is 70.5%, a fraction above the Wales-wide target of 70% for 2024-25. A scrutiny meeting heard that Swansea's recycling rate is in the top five of Wales' 22 authority areas but highest in terms of cities. And the way it collects and deals with waste is among the best performing cost-wise. "Swansea is the lead city for recycling in Wales, if not the UK, and that's something to be proud of," said Rachel Jowitt, head of corporate services and waste. She said the ease of the recycling system in Swansea helped, and added: "Swansea was one of the first to bring in a three-bag limit (for non-recyclable rubbish). That was a huge, brave step to really force residents to put the recycling out." Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here The council collects around 70,000 tonnes of recyclable waste per year from outside people's homes, from businesses and from the county's household waste recycling centres. The waste is taken to the baling plant at Llansamlet where the council pays to have the circa 34,500 tonnes of food and garden waste taken away and dealt with, but earns money by selling the remaining 35,500 tonnes of material, such as glass, paper, tins, plastics, ceramics and wood. Article continues below The council's service improvement, regeneration and finance scrutiny panel heard that each material had a bespoke market and that a recent surge in oil price would affect prices for plastic, which contains oil. Ms Jowitt said the council maximised the use of medium to long term contracts of three to five years to help provide financial security. She added that the authority also sought "good end destinations" and had to prove to regulator Natural Resources Wales that the materials had been recycled. While councillors welcomed Swansea's strong recycling performance the question was raised, not for the first time, about why people had to travel to the Llansamlet household waste recycling centre in the east of the city to dispose of wood. Cllr Lynda James asked why a wood skip couldn't be provided at the Clyne household waste recycling centre in Derwen Fawr. "I do know many people just burn the wood, they have bonfires in their garden rather than having to travel across the city, which is a waste of the wood which could add to the recycling rates," she said. Ms Jowitt, who is new to her role, said she hadn't yet visited all of Swansea's waste recycling centres, but that from her understanding some of them were quite constrained in size and that the cost of collecting extra skips had to be factored in. She also said wood brought to the Llansamlet site included treated and painted timber, MDF, and that some had nails in it. She added that the major wood reprocessor used by the council, in Crewe, was sometimes at full capacity. She said the Welsh Government had been trying to set up a national contract to stimulate home-grown wood reprocessing in Wales. She said wood was "such a difficult material to recycle". A report before the panel said people wanted to put more kinds of materials out for recycling. Ms Jowitt said the early feedback from a trial allowing residents to put out soft plastics like crisp packets in some parts of Swansea was "really positive". Panel convenor, Cllr Chris Holley, said he would like to know if the council had a bond with materials' reprocessors because, he claimed, some companies had gone bust in the past owing the council a lot of money. Article continues below Top five recycled materials in Swansea in 2024-25 by tonnage: Mixed papers 7,970 Glass 6,618 Wood 4,952 Ceramics 3,832 Metal 1,204
