Planning permission for wind farm overturned

An Bord Pleanala has overturned planning permission for one of the State's most powerful wind farms yet, a 15.6 megawatt farm planned for the Coolea Valley, Co Cork. The applicant was Treasury Estates, a subsidiary of Treasury Holdings, the development company involved in Dublin's Spencer Dock project.

However, in a separate decision the board has upheld permission for a smaller wind farm, also in Coolea Valley, to a separate company, Farnsfield Ltd.

Planning permission for the Treasury Estates farm, which envisaged 13 turbines at Inchamore and Milleeny townlands at Coolea near Macroom, was granted by Cork County Council last July. Not the State's largest wind farm in respect of the number of its turbines - another wind farm at Barnsmore Gap in Co Donegal has 22 turbines with a capacity of 15 megawatts - it was to have had the highest generating capacity and some of the most up-to-date equipment, allowing it to generate 15.6 megawatts from just 13 turbines. Twelve of the turbines would have had a "hub" height (the point at the centre of the blades) of 45 metres, while the 13th was to have had a hub height of just 40 metres. All turbines would have had blades of a diameter of 54.2 metres.

The grant of planning permission had been appealed by local residents who gave their address as care of Ms Sinead O'Leary of Milleens, also in Coolea.

In granting permission for the smaller wind farm to Farnsfield Ltd for four turbines with a capacity of 4.8 megawatts, ala the board imposed 21 conditions. These relate to access to the site which is to be by an unsurfaced road; the location of any transformers inside the turbines or underground; adequate monitoring of noise levels; on decommissioning the wind-farm, the mast and turbines shall be dismantled and if required by the Irish Aviation Authority the turbines shall be lighted with red, low-intensity lights.

Mr Gavin Lawlor, of consultants Frank Benson and Partners, which were involved in both wind farm applications, said it was not generally realised "that 50 per cent of our energy requirement could be supplied by wind farms on 1 per cent of the land mass."

Mr Lawlor said it was now a misconception that a wind farm needed many turbines to generate viable electricity supplies.