Bat and woodland buffers helped remove Turbine 13 from Wales’s Rhiwlas wind proposal
There is something in the Welsh countryside that has developers rethinking the the location of wind turbines.
It had nothing to do with a change in energy demand or an issue with the technology. Instead, it was a reminder that even the biggest ambitions in the clean energy space need to consider the smallest residents.
But what is it that brought about the rethink at Rhiwlas?
Sensitive to any changes in their natural habitat, wind energy planning needs to consider where bats roost and how they travel between feeding and rest areas.
A proposal and a plan
Near Llangurig in Powys, Wales, a proposal for an onshore wind development – Rhiwlas Energy Park – was submitted by developer, Bute Energy, to Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) in December 2025.
Prior to the submission, local communities, stakeholders and advisers were consulted to weigh in on the project.
After some feedback, as well as technical and environmental assessments, the design was modified. The biggest change was the removal of Turbine 13, with other turbine sites being adjusted to accommodate any effects on the surrounding area.
Not yet approved, the application is still in the formal decision-making process, which gives authorities and the public time to review the plans. This is not just about the proposed energy farm, but the impact it could have on the environment.
Keeping the environment in mind
Changing the layout might seem like the simplest way forward for developers, but this was not the case when it came to the removal of Turbine 13.
According to Bute Energy, this decision was made as a way to reduce landscape and visual impacts to residents nearby. And, not just considering the humans, it was also to avoid bat and woodland buffer zones.
These buffer zones are established to keep areas around sensitive wildlife habitats clear. This gives bats an area to roost, feed or move through the landscape safely.
Part of the environmental work for this project includes ecology, noise, landscape and visual assessments, as well as surveys of birds and other wildlife.
The findings dictated the turbine position before construction can begin instead of being just an afterthought.
What does the removal mean?
What if not only the environment noticed the effect, but the animals did too? That’s exactly what happened.
Allowing space for bats
Sensitive to any changes in their natural habitat, wind energy planning needs to consider where bats roost and how they travel between feeding and rest areas.
By maintaining buffers, it can minimize the risk of interfering with these routes. Where woodland edges connect roosting places with feeding grounds across the wider countryside, this is even more necessary.
Protecting the landscape at large
It’s not just the trees that make woodland valuable.
They also support the movement and feeding of local wildlife.
By removing a turbine that is in a sensitive area, it can remove some of the pressure for the animals while, at the same time, reducing the visual prescence of infrastructure for people.
When assessments shape design
While Turbine 13 might have been the only one to have been completely removed from the plans, others were also adjusted for various reasons.
Turbine 3 was moved not just to reduce the visual impact but also to preserve peat, Turbine 7 had to be shifted to avoid a heritage asset and Turbine 12 needed to be repositioned to improve spacing.
Rhiwlas Energy Park will be able to deliver up to 80MW of renewable electricity once complete.
But, according to the planning documents, it’s not just about generating energy. It’s also about habitat creation and restoration.
A balanced path forward
What this proposed project proves is that, when environmental constraints are identified early, renewable energy plans can evolve.
Generating cleaner power and the protection of wildlife are not mutually exclusive, and careful assessment, transparent consultation and meaningful safeguards being in place can serve the needs of all inhabitants, big and small.
Could the creation of wind farms play a role in the restoration of damaged natural habitats?
