The 14-member advisory group was set up by RWE Innogy to advance the views of local people during one of the biggest consultation exercises carried out by the renewables sector at the time. The 2011/12 consultation engaged with more than 1,000 people and organisations in order to understand the priorities of the fund and how it should be structured and operated. The results demonstrated support for projects that will help young people, improve skills, create jobs and regenerate the local area.
The £768,000 per year community fund, linked to inflation, will be available once the wind farm is completely operational with the first payment expected in 2015.
“This is the first time we have an assembled an advisory group in this way and we think it is an innovative approach to ensuring that the Gwynt y Môr funding is used in the best possible way for the benefit of communities in the vicinity of the wind farm” said RWE Innogy UK Investment Officer Katy Woodington. “Fourteen representatives from local authorities, colleges, businesses, voluntary sector and Welsh Government are providing local and specialist guidance, advising on the strategic priorities of the region and how this money can be used to deliver the greatest impact in line with the consultation results. Working together we will be able to deliver funding to meet the goals of the region and the priority areas identified during the consultation.”
The fund will complement, rather than duplicate, existing provision and part of the group’s remit will be to provide additional advice on how to shape the final geographic area that is eligible.
Gwynt y Môr is a 2 billion euro project which is on schedule to become fully operational later in 2014. When complete it will have the potential to generate enough electricity to supply approximately 400,000 homes – around a third of the total number of households in Wales. The construction phase to date has enabled the injection of over £350 million into the UK supply chain and has been responsible for the creation of over 250,000 jobs. Over the long term it is expected to sustain over 110 jobs at a new multi-million pound operations and maintenance base at the Port of Mostyn in North Wales.
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