innogy Renewables UK’s largest onshore wind farm, Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm has successfully installed all of the 27 turbines that make up the project. The 96MW wind farm is located within the working forest, managed by Natural Resources Wales near Denbigh.
Once fully operational later this year, it will be capable of producing enough renewable energy for the equivalent domestic needs of up to 63,800 average UK households per year. Further cementing innogy’s position as the largest renewable energy operator in Wales.
Construction of the wind farm started in March 2018, with a contract worth in excess of £20 million placed with leading Civil Engineering firm Jones Bros, based in Ruthin, just ten miles from site. The first of the 27 turbines was successfully erected in April 2019 and today’s installation of the final turbine is a massive milestone for the project.
Andy Clayton, Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm Project Manager said;
“It’s a momentous achievement by the team. They’ve worked tirelessly, often not helped by challenging weather conditions, to ensure that the 27 turbines have been installed safely and successfully. Having already achieved first generation back in July, our next target is to commission all the turbines, with the aim to have the wind farm fully operational later this year.”
Once fully operational the associated community fund worth a total of £19 million over the operating lifetime will become available to applicants. This flexible funding has the potential to significantly benefit communities both local to the project and more widely across North Wales. Currently the process to put in place an independent organisation to administer the fund is ongoing, with an announcement set to be made later this Autumn.
