Maenllwyd Uchaf. First place in the valley to produce electricity and just happens to be on the Afon Goch catchment as well. Learning from the past! Oh and in the background is the 1.9Gw Dinorwig Pump Storage station

We we made it. As well as living and breathing renewable energy in my work time it also seems to take up the bit between work and sleeping as well. This is the case with all who volunteer for community energy companies (wish the Government realised the value they gain from every £ invested into community renewable energy. But its difficult to account for something you don’t measure) Ynni Padarn Peris Cyf is a community benefit society set up to develop renewable energy for community benefit in the Padran Peris area (the bit from Snowdon to Llanrug). The last few months we have been working toward pre accrediting the 55kw Afon Goch hydro and as of 18:00 today we have a hydro which is pre accredited for Feed in Tariff! Our work schedule accelerated a tad as new cuts and more cuts came through the consultation process. (Pre accreditation, LEC’s and now FIT consultation) Planning permission, abstraction licence, flood defence and the grid is funded (thanks to ROCBF and the Community Energy Wales development fund) are now all in with OFGEM. Its been a bit mad to say the least. Night time dashes around the country to get land owners to sign slight modifications on drawings, planning conditions to negotiate, grid loans to sort (thanks a lot to Mick Brown and Nick Venti of the Robert Owen Community Bank and the team for bending over backwards to help us… many a bank could learn a lesson or two.) Thanks also to Dafydd Watts of the Welsh Government Ynni’r Fro program for enabling a lot of the feasibility funding to put us in a good place. Taking five mins before the next push towards raising the £250k to build. but at least we have a fully consented and pre-accredited hydro. Alun, Paula, George, Gwyndaf and myself thank the innumerable people who have helped make this happen.

Our Office for the last two and a half years. Thanks to Pete for the free use of the community room above the cafe. Pints of tea and chip butties have been used in the making of this hydro

Our fuel source. Afon Goch which also used to be the villages main water supply. most of the pipes and weirs are still there

The office proper. This is where all this work happens. (Image Alun Hughes)