The decline in the rural economy in Wales threatens the future of many hill farmers. In an effort to counter this and provide a future in farming for their children, three hill-farming families formed the Cwmni Gwynt Teg cooperative, to built a wind farm on their land. With no previously experience in wind energy it took them five years to achieve their goal.
The wind farm which was opened in 2003 has three grid-connected 1.3 MW turbines, two owned by the cooperative and one privately. The combined output of about 10 GWh/year is enough to supply about 2,400 average UK homes, and saves about 5,600 tonnes/year of CO2 by replacing grid electricity. The local community were involved throughout the development, with local contractors used as far as possible and 1,500 people turning up to watch the installation of the first turbine.
