CALLS will be made by councillors from across the political spectrum to ask the Welsh Government to pause wind energy planning applications in Powys.

At a full council meeting on Thursday, 9 October, a motion will be placed before councillors asking for the Welsh Government to pause applications until it has answered three important aspects for developing these energy projects.

These applications, which are considered as Developments of National Significance (DNS), are processed by Welsh Government Planning Inspectors at PEDW (Planning and Environment Decisions Wales) who advise a government minister on what decision to take.

Powys County Council are only a statutory consultee in this process and are able to provide a Local Impact Report (LIR) on a DNS application.

The LIR is the council’s opportunity to feed into the process, by explaining what they think planning inspectors should take careful note of when deciding the application, as well as suggesting conditions to place on any eventual permission.

The motion will be put forward by Cllr Glyn Preston (Liberal Democrat – Llanidloes) and will be seconded by Cllr Jonathan Wilkinson (Conservative – Llangyniew and Meifod).

The motion states: “Powys calls on the Welsh Government to pause its open invitation to submit any more DNS applications for major onshore wind farms in Powys.”

This is until: “The Government clearly sets out how it will ensure that cumulative impact including the associated infrastructure across all outstanding DNS applications is to be properly managed and considered.’

“The existing case by case basis cannot keep pace with the rate at which competing applications are emerging, leaving communities unconvinced that the declared presumption in favour of large-scale projects will adequately protect their interests which is undermining confidence in the impartiality of the planning system.

“The government sets out a clear and coherent plan for upgrading the power transmission and distribution network, confirming their commitment to undergrounding new lines of 132kva (Kilovolt-Amperes) and above, and demonstrates how electricity generated can be accessed and used by local residents.”

They also want the government to explain how they can “align” the two consenting regimes for wind farms and transmission lines.

Plans for transmission lines would come under the UK Government’s remit.

The motion says that the Welsh Government should: “not permit more energy parks to be granted planning consent unless and until there is demonstrable evidence that they can be implemented and connected up to the grid.”

A financial assessment of the proposal said that it will only cost staff time in drawing up the letter.

Earlier this year, the council’s Planning Committee agreed to write to the letter to the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Rebecca Evans, to voice their concerns about the number of energy projects in the pipeline for Powys.

PEDW currently has 17 DNS energy applications in various stages of development for sites all around Powys.