Micro hydroelectric scheme to power a school in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Is the south Wales valleys council leading the way for renewable energy in the south Wales valleys?
Hello and welcome to The Valleys Lead.
We are waiting with baited breath to hear what Plaid Cymru will deliever for Wales when it comes to renewable energy. While we wait, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council continues pushing forward to create more renewable energy.
The story is below, but first we wanted to share some very exciting news with you. The Lead’s local coverage (of which The Valleys Lead is included) has been shortlisted in this year’s Publisher Newsletter Awards. We’re all super excited.
Off the back of such wonderful news, we just wanted to say thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who has been in touch thus far with story tips. Rest assured, if you come to me with a story, discretion can be guaranteed. We’d love you to get in touch at valleys@thelead.uk or via Bluesky or Instagram with any stories you might have for us.
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The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys.)
Campaigners against planned library closures in Caerphilly will have their legal challenge heard on Thursday June 4 after the council has proposed shutting ten of its smaller libraries to deliver a better service. People in communities with planned closures have said local libraries are vital lifelines for small villages and closures would disproportionately impact younger residents. Although the closures of ten libraries was due to occur in August, closures were paused following a legal challenge, which will be heard in Cardiff’s High Court for a judicial review next week.
Though this is Wales-wide news, we just had to mention it. Tour de France is coming to Wales! Around 1,000 volunteers will be needed in Wales for the third leg of the men's race on 4 July 2027. The leg will start in Welshpool, passing through iconic landscapes, magnificent valleys and bustling town centres, before finishing in Cardiff. The application portal is open and will be open until Tuesday 1 September 2026 - www.letourgb.com/volunteer .
Blaenau Gwent Council’s new Family Support Hub launched last week with a a family fun day at Bedwellty Park in Tredegar. The Family Support Hub brings together a wide range of early years and family support services and provides a single point of contact for anyone seeking guidance or assistance. A “no wrong front door” approach ensures that anyone reaching out is directed to the most appropriate support, advice, or information for them. Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Councillor Sue Edmunds said: “Making sure every child in Blaenau Gwent has the opportunity to have the best start in life is a top priority for us, and as part of this we want to make the process of reaching out for support or advice as easy and comfortable as it can be. The new Family Support Hub brings all early years support, activities and advice under one roof, which is easy to access and more parent/carer friendly.”
Micro hydroelectric scheme to power a school in Rhondda Cynon Taf
In March, the previous Labour-run Welsh Parliament announced the Renewable Energy Sector Deal, applauded by Renewable UK Cymru, who said the deal would unlock a £10 billion opportunity for Welsh businesses, 8,000 jobs and £183 million in community benefits.
Renewable UK Cymru previously warned Wales was failing to capitalise on its “world-class natural resources.”
While Scotland has secured more than £18bn in new investment support for clean energy in the last ten years, Wales has attracted less then £1 billion.
Rising electricity demand to support the switch to electric vehicles, heat pumps, data centres and AI-driven industries meant without “a major increase in clean power generation, Wales risks higher bills, weaker energy security and falling further behind economically,” according to Renewable UK Cymru.
Although the deal was announced by the previous government, Plaid Cymru, the new leaders of the Senedd, said at the time: “In our first 100 days in government, we would build new partnerships between government and key stakeholders and develop Trydan Gwyrdd Cymru (Welsh for ‘Green Electricity Wales’) into a single, consolidated energy company to develop renewables and to help reduce energy bills.”
We are waiting and watching to see what Plaid Cymru will deliver when it comes to renewables in Wales, but until then, a recent proposal hopes to deliverable renewable energy to a school in the south Wales valleys.
A proposed micro hydro development in Clydach Vale in the Rhondda would harness water from Nant Clydach Lake, with a pipeline running from an intake near the Lakeside Café to a new turbine house.
The planning statement submitted with the application said the scheme ultimately aims to progress the Rhondda Cynon Taf Council carbon reduction targets as well as national net zero targets.
The hydro power scheme would include a pipeline running from the intake adjacent to Lake Side Cafe (close to Nant Clydach Lake in Clydach Vale) to a proposed turbine house, with a cable running from the turbine building to the connection point at Ysgol Nantgwyn.
Most of the routes would be run underground but one section of the pipeline across the Clydach Lake car park will be micro bore tunnelled into place while the rest will be “open trench buried.”
As trees will need to be removed to build, site proposals include new tree-planting in the replacement works.
A similar, but smaller hydro power system had previously been approved by the council in 2008, and was then implemented by a community group, who has said they are fully supportive of further hydropower schemes locally.
The council seems to be leading the way in hyrdro power.
In March, plans were submitted to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council for a new micro-hydro plant to power a football club, Cambrian United FC. If approved, it would become the first in the county to power its home ground through hydropower.
In a region shaped by the historic coal industry, the head of the proposed project said the effort is part of their “journey from black to green.”
“I would say if you’ve got the potential to develop a micro-hydro plant within your community then it’s a no-brainer,” The Cambrian Village Trust (the trust behind the plans) director, Phillip Williams said. “The coal industry left deprivation. When the mines all shut there was deprivation, scarred landscapes, and the valleys have obviously struggled to regenerate themselves from those days.”
He hopes that community energy projects like this one will give back to communities left behind.
Chris Blake, former director of Green Valleys, which helped install renewables in south Wales, said there was “enormous potential” in using water for power. “There’s enormous potential,” Blake said. “We did a study which identified 20 potential hydro sites in Rhondda Cynon Taf alone. Community energy projects bring people together to harness their own landscape for creating energy. But they can also produce financial returns for local investors and for the social enterprises that organise them.”