Opening of £20m windfarm

A £20 million windfarm development will be officially opened in Mid Wales today.

The 12-turbine Carno II development near Newtown is expected to attract £30,000 into the area through energy savings.

Mick Bates, AM for Montgomeryshire said he was looking forward to opening the windfarm, which has been developed by a group of local farmers.

He said: "I am delighted to support the opening of Carno II Windfarm which is a fantastic example of how a local community can benefit from the development of renewable energy and help to tackle climate change at the same time."

He said that the turbines stood at 80 metres (262ft) high.

"There are too many detractors from the development of wind energy but Carno II Windfarm represents the result of excellent consultation and good co-operation between the developers and the local community.Ê

"Carno II windfarm will supply over a quarter of the Powys population with electricity and repay the energy used during construction within eight months.

"It has also brought huge benefits with over £4 million spent in the Welsh economy during construction, a commitment to manage the habitat around the site and to invest £30,000 annually on projects that directly benefit the local area," he added.