Wales’s first solar powered village opens next month and could kick start a national trend.
Pentre Solar is the brainchild of Glen Peters, an ex-PwC energy sector consulting partner, who built and commissioned the first solar farm in Wales in 2011, in consultation with Gareth Dauncy, an architect from Cardigan and Jens Schroeder, a carpenter from Fishguard, who had an idea to build a £10,000 house.
They built Ty Solar, a prototype three-bed home made from larch, abundant in West Wales, to test the idea that a home could run on virtually zero energy, be built at or below the cost of traditional bricks and mortar and have an ultra low carbon footprint. The houses all have 11” of insulation; use 12% of the energy of a traditional home; are powered by solar energy; are of all timber construction with a monopitch roof and with 80% of space heating needs coming from solar energy due to the houses having a southerly orientation.
Now they have developed a village of six homes in North Pembrokeshire; all with a contemporary design with fitted kitchens and white goods, superfast broadband, satellite and freeview TV connections, landscaped garden, access to a shared electric car and extremely low energy costs. It has been launched as a private sector initiative offering affordable housing to tenants off the council housing register in Pembrokeshire.
The company, Western Solar, now hope to gain permission to build another 1,000 homes around the country.
If you are looking to move to Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion or Gower, or buy a second home or letting cottage here, give West Wales Property Finders a call on 01834 862816. Over 90% of the properties we find for our clients never hit the open market; thereby ensuring they get the pick of the crop. http://www.westwalespropertyfinders.co.uk
Well done and may the idea expand and prosper,perhaps even globally.
Many thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree-it is a brilliant idea.