A green energy company is being urged not to use new powers granted to them to access land through mid and west Wales.

OFGEM has granted GreenGen Cymru an INDO (Independent Network Distribution Operator) licence, giving it the ability to legally serve notice to landowners along their planned power line routes in order to access their land for survey and planning purposes.

This development has been met with significant opposition from local community groups across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Powys, who have been protesting the proposed pylon routes through both the Tywi-Usk, and the Tywi-Teifi since plans first emerged in 2022.

Electricity commons
Electricity python (Wiki Commons)

Local residents and landowners had petitioned OFGEM to not grant the licence to GreenGen on several grounds, with the energy regulator eventually granting the licence to the company.

This now means that the company will have statutory powers to exercise as it seeks to gain access to land along the proposed lines in the Teifi and Towy valleys, despite the protestation of landowners along the route.

Local Plaid Cymru politicians have previously expressed a concern that the heavy handed tactics employed by the company during the process have increased tensions with landowners already, and are worried that this latest development will escalate them further.

In a joint statement signed by Adam Price MS, Cefin Campbell MS, Elin Jones MS, Ann Davies MP, and Ben Lake MP, the Plaid Cymru politicians representing the affected areas state: “We are increasingly concerned that GreenGen, in using their powers under the granting of an INDO licence to access land, risk escalating the tensions with communities along the line.

“It has been a recurring theme we hear from our communities during the pre-consultations that have taken place in the past months and years that these people do not feel their concerns on these proposed lines are being heard. The message from residents along both proposed routes has been clear from day 1 – put these lines underground. We as Plaid Cymru elected members have categorically supported these calls and continue to do so in both Parliaments.

Spiderplow
ATP in Pencader operates a spiderplow which allows cables to be installed underground with minimal impact (ATP)

“There is also the matter of the Independent Advisory Group set up by the Welsh Government – the findings of this group in their analysis of the costs of undergrounding and overhead cable lines could make the case for a distinct policy change in Wales. Should this policy change result in the undergrounding of the lines, the issue of land access could be revisited with much less resistance on the ground.

“We urge GreenGen to consider a moratorium and delay the use of their new powers while this particular policy area is resolved. To move forward in a heavy handed manner under the present circumstances risks instigating serious anger in the communities affected.”

Green GEN Cymru said the licence was ‘an important step in our mission to deliver renewable energy across Wales, providing clean, reliable, and sustainable energy to our homes, businesses, and communities.’

It added: “The IDNO license enables us to operate electricity distribution networks that will support the growing demand for renewable energy infrastructure.”