A commitment by the onshore wind industry in Wales to maximise long term community and economic benefits for communities which host onshore wind developments has been welcomed by the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones.

The Declaration on Community Benefits from Onshore Wind, supported by industry body Renewable UK Cymru and the Welsh Government, has been signed by onshore wind farm developers and operators in Wales and will ensure a consistent and transparent approach in the way they engage with communities.

The First Minister said he was pleased to note that a number of onshore developers had already signed up to the declaration even before its publication and urged more onshore wind developers to do the same.


He added that while the UK government has prescribed a recommended level of community benefits for England of £5,000 per megawatt, Wales is already seeing this level of community benefit in Welsh developments such as Pen y Cymoedd (Vattenfall) and Brechfa Forest West (RWE).

He said: "The recommended levels in England provide a minimal benchmark for communities in Wales both in volume and scope. We recognise in Wales that community benefit funds are just one mechanism for delivering benefit to communities, and we do not want to stifle innovation and flexibility in this respect.

"In Wales we must demonstrate how this level of benefit, married with economic benefits for the Welsh supply chain, will enable communities to share in the opportunity to transition to a low carbon future. Our forthcoming Register of Community and Economic Benefit will go some way to do this, by showing not only how much benefit is being provided by developers, but how that benefit is being delivered."

(CD/JP)