PLANS for a 100 metre high wind turbine on land near Ebbw Vale will be decided by Blaenau Gwent councillors.

On Thursday, September 5, Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Planning committee will meet and consider the proposal for the wind turbine which was lodged with the council by Silent Valley Waste Services in May 2022, before the firm was taken in house by the council.

The application is for the development of a wind turbine and associated works on land forming part of the Silent Valley waste services site at Cwm.

The three bladed wind turbine would have a hub height of 65 metres, a maximum blade tip height of 100 metres.

It would have a capacity of 1.5 megawatts (MW) and the potential to generate three to four million units of electricity a year.

A portion of the energy generated will supply power directly to the Silent Valley site which is a council owned and operated facility.

The report explains that the application is in front of the Planning committee as under the rules “non-domestic renewable energy schemes” are supposed to be decided by councillors.

The application is also deemed to be one of “wider public interest.”

Planning officer Helen Hinton said:  “It is anticipated that the development would have an operational lifetime of 25 to 30 years.”

“The turbine would be positioned outside of the former landfill operation, on an area of open ground with adjacent semi-improved grassland, bramble scrub, concrete access roads and a partially walled area of concrete hardstanding, all of which form part of the waste transfer operational area of the site.

“Although the former landfill operation of the site has closed and undergone land restoration, buildings associated with the current waste transfer operation are located to the north and south of the application site.

Parts of Blaenau Gwent are in a Welsh Government pre-assessed areas for wind energy (PAA) where there is a presumption in favour for large scale wind turbine developments.

This has seen a glut of planning applications brought forward in the county borough for bigger schemes.

As these are deemed to be developments of national significance (DNS) they schemes are processed and decided by Welsh Government planning inspectors.

Ms Hinton said: “Whilst the proposal does not fall within the large-scale development category, it is considered that position of the turbine at a lower elevation means it is unlikely to prejudice the development of future larger scale renewable energy proposals.”

While being partly obscured by higher ground and a partially wooded knoll the turbine rotors and hub would be visible from Festival Church, Beech Grove, Victoria, parts of Garden City and Briey Hill and would be a “skyline feature.”

Ms Hinton advised councillors that when they decide the application they should give “significant weight” to the contribution the proposal could make in meeting Welsh, UK, and European targets for renewable energy.

Ms Hinton said: “It is considered that the principle of the proposed wind turbine with associated infrastructure is acceptable and that material planning issues associated with the development can be addressed and the impacts mitigated.”

Due to this she advises councillors to grant planning permission for the turbine.

In February 2022, the council agreed to take over the council owned but arms length waste services firm following a damning report by Audit Wales.

The report highlighted that the council failed to establish robust and effective arrangements in its relationship with Silent Valley between 2003 and 2017.

The transfer of the environment permit from Silent Valley to Blaenau Gwent allows the council to operate the landfill site near Cwm until 2076.

In January councillors agreed to dissolve the waste services firm.