No, not at all.  The Afon Anafon flows down a separate valley to the east of the Aber Valley.  By the time the Afon Anafon meets the Afon Rhaeadr Fawr from the Falls just upstream of Bontnewydd, all the water from the turbine house will have been discharged back into the river. 

The concrete footings have been built to last well beyond the initial 40-year lease we have on the land. The turbine is expected to last at least as long.  It is not unknown for hydro-electric plants to still be generating after 100 years without major problems.

Operating costs include:
• monitoring and maintenance;
• rent; 
• insurance; 
• Corporation Tax
• administration;
• technical services.
• contingency;

All disposable profits generated by the Anafon hydro are gift-aided to a local, community charity, Dŵr Anafon, set up to distribute them for the benefit of local communities.

Dŵr Anafon

No, the community share offer closed in March 2014 and no more shares have been, or will be, offered for sale. 

YAE is currently repaying the capital invested in the Society by shareholders at the rate of one fifteenth of their holding per annum with the aim of returning all invested capital by 2035, the year our Feed in Tariff terminates.  When this happens, the Society’s income will depend only on the sale of electricity under our Power Purchase Agreements and so will be much reduced.  The objective of the Board is to reduce outgoings as much as possible by that date to ensure the Society’s profits are sufficient to continue annual donations to Dŵr Anafon for community benefit.

On or before that date, our current shareholders and members of the communities of Abergwyngregyn and Llanfairfechan will be invited to purchase shares in the Society for a nominal £1. These shareholders will then own the Society into the future.

If a Member dies, the repaid value of the shares will normally be added to the estate for probate purposes. You have the option to nominate a recipient for the value of the shares in the event of your death.  If you were able to claim Enterprise Investment Scheme tax relief when you purchased your shares, you will be able to avoid Inheritance Tax on the shares if you include them in your will.

No. Members must be at least 16 years of age.  An investor may hold shares on behalf of someone who is under 16 but these shares are held in trust until the child is 16 (the investor is “the trustee”). Therefore the shares are the personal property of the trustee until the child reaches 16 years old.  If the trustee is a Member in his/her own right, this would imply that he/she would be a Member twice over, potentially entitled to two votes.  As this is not permitted, a trustee owning shares on behalf of a child cannot be a Member in their own right.