Mae ynni gwynt yn cyfrannu dros £ 4 miliwn i gymunedau Cymru

25

November, 2020

Mae dros £ 4 miliwn wedi’i gyfrannu at gymunedau Cymru o brosiectau ynni gwynt yng Nghymru, yn ôl data RenewableUK Cymru a gyhoeddwyd i gefnogi Wythnos Gwynt y DU (23 – 27 Tachwedd)

Mae’r diwydiant ynni gwynt wedi ymrwymo i gefnogi’r cymunedau lle mae ei brosiectau, ac mae llawer o ffermydd gwynt yn gwneud hynny ar ffurf cynlluniau budd cymunedol. Mae dros 200 o brosiectau ynni gwynt yng Nghymru yn cefnogi ystod eang o brosiectau o flancedi ar gyfer hosbis leol, i adfer cynefinoedd naturiol a gŵyl beicio mynydd i ferched

Sut mae prosiectau’n darparu cefnogaeth hanfodol i wasanaethau lleol
Mae Vattenfall yn berchen ar fferm wynt ar y tir Pen y Cymoedd yng nghymoedd Castell-nedd Uchaf, Rhondda, Cynon ac Afan. Bob blwyddyn mae’r Gronfa Gymunedol yn cyfrannu dros £ 1.8 miliwn i’r gymuned leol. Mae cronfa argyfwng Covid i helpu busnesau a grwpiau yn ariannol wedi dosbarthu dros £ 500,000 hyd yma.

Un o’r prosiectau sydd wedi elwa o Gronfa Gymunedol Pen y Cymoedd yw’r Play Yard yn Nhreorig, sy’n ganolfan chwarae meddal i fabanod, plant bach a phlant. Fe’i cefnogwyd gan £ 350,000 pan ddechreuodd gyntaf ac mae bellach yn adnodd cymunedol hanfodol sydd wedi creu swyddi ac wedi caniatáu i bobl gysylltu a gwella eu hiechyd corfforol a meddyliol. Yn methu ag agor yn ystod Lockdown, mae’r Rheolwr Nathan Howells a’i dîm wedi addasu eu cynnig ac yn dosbarthu hamperi bwyd o ansawdd uchel i bobl ar furlough neu sydd wedi’u heffeithio fel arall gan yr argyfwng, yn ogystal â chyflenwi dros 200 o giniawau ysgol y dydd i atal plant rhag llwglyd

Mae Gwynt y Môr yn fferm wynt alltraeth oddi ar arfordir Gogledd Cymru ac mae’n eiddo i RWE. Dros oes y prosiect, y disgwylir iddo fod hyd at 25 mlynedd, bydd yn buddsoddi dros £ 19 miliwn mewn prosiect ledled Gogledd Cymru trwy ei Gronfa Gymunedol.

Ariannu gofal iechyd lleol Mae Ty Gobaith yn hosbis plant ychydig y tu allan i Conwy sydd wedi derbyn £ 50,000 wedi’i wasgaru dros ddwy flynedd gan Gwynt y Môr. Bydd hyn yn mynd tuag at ariannu Nyrs Cyswllt Newyddenedigol arbenigol. Mae’r gronfa hefyd wedi helpu Canolfan Merched Gogledd Cymru, sy’n cefnogi menywod sy’n dioddef cam-drin domestig a phrosiect becws hyfforddiant cymunedol yn y Rhyl sy’n darparu hyfforddiant a phrofiad gwaith i bobl ddi-waith leol.

Mae RWE hefyd yn berchen ar Fferm Wynt Brechfa Forest West yn Sir Gaerfyrddin. Cyfrannodd y Gronfa Gymunedol hon dros £ 26,000 i Undeb Credyd SaveEasy i sefydlu canghennau naid mewn lleoliadau gwledig, ariannu cydgysylltwyr lleol, gweithio gydag ysgolion lleol a sicrhau bod gwasanaethau ar gael ar-lein yn ystod argyfwng Covid.

Dywedodd Rhys Jones, Cyfarwyddwr RenewableUK Cymru:

“Rydym yn gwybod bod ffermydd gwynt yn debygol o chwarae rhan gynyddol bwysig yn nyfodol sero net Cymru, ochr yn ochr â thechnolegau sy’n dod i’r amlwg yn y sector tonnau a llanw. Gyda’r raddfa a’r cyflymder yn camu i fyny, mae’n hanfodol bod datblygwyr nid yn unig yn darparu megawat gwyrdd i bweru datgarboneiddio ond yn gweithio yn unol â chymunedau. Mae hyn yn golygu sicrhau buddion sy’n eu helpu i dyfu a dod yn fwy gwydn mewn ffyrdd sy’n ystyrlon ac yn benodol i’w gofynion, ac yn y tymor hir. Mae hyn yn cymryd pwys mwy fyth wrth i ni, gobeithio, ddechrau dod i’r amlwg o’r pandemig.”

Wind energy contributes over £4 million to Welsh communities

25

November, 2020

Over £4 million has been contributed to Welsh communities from wind energy projects in Wales, according to RenewableUK Cymru data published in support of UK Wind Week (23 – 27 November). 

The wind energy industry is committed to supporting the communities where its projects are located, and many wind farms do so in the form of community benefit schemes.  There are over 200 wind energy projects in Wales supporting a wide range of projects from blankets for a local hospice, to restoration of natural habitats and a women’s mountain biking festival.   

How projects provide vital support for local services
Vattenfall owns Pen y Cymoedd onshore wind farm in the Upper Neath, Rhondda, Cynon and Afan valleys.  Each year the Community Fund contributes over £1.8 million to the local community.  A Covid emergency fund to help businesses and groups financially has distributed over £500,000 to date. 

One of the projects that has benefitted from Pen y Cymoedd’s Community Fund is the Play Yard in Treorchy, which is a soft play centre for babies, toddlers and children.  It was supported by £350,000 when it first started and is now a vital community resource that has created jobs and allowed people to connect and improve their physical and mental health.  Unable to open during Lockdown, Manager Nathan Howells and his team have adapted their offer and distribute high-quality food hampers to people on furlough or otherwise affected by the crisis, as well as supplying over 200 school lunches a day to prevent children going hungry.

Gwynt y Môr is an offshore wind farm off the coast of North Wales and is owned by RWE.  Over the lifetime of the project, which is expected to be up to 25 years, it will invest over £19 million into project across North Wales via its Community Fund. 

Funding local healthcare Ty Gobaith is a children’s hospice just outside Conwy that has received £50,000 spread over two years from Gwynt y Môr.  This will go towards funding a specialist Neonatal Link Nurse.  The fund has also helped the North Wales Women’s Centre, who support women suffering from domestic abuse and a community training bakery project in Rhyl that is providing training and work experience for local unemployed people. 

RWE also owns Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm in Carmarthenshire.  This Community Fund contributed over £26,000 to the SaveEasy Credit Union to set up pop-up branches in rural locations, fund local co-ordinators, work with local schools and make services available online during the Covid crisis. 

Rhys Jones, Director of RenewableUK Cymru, said:

“We know that wind farms are likely to play an increasingly important role in the future of a net zero Wales, alongside emergent technologies in the wave and tidal sector.  With the scale and pace stepping up, it’s vital that developers not only deliver green megawatts to power decarbonisation but work in lock step with communities.  This means delivering benefits which help them grow and become more resilient in ways which are meaningful and specific to their requirements, and for the long term.  This assumes even greater importance as we, hopefully, begin to emerge from the pandemic.”