Co Tipperary will have two separate wind farms, with the capacity to produce electricity for 20,000 homes, if plans to develop them are given permission.
At Ballinveny and Borrisnafarney, a planned £4 million to £5 million wind farm, which could generate enough electricity for a town with a population of 5,000, has been granted planning permission, subject to conditions, by North Tipperary County Council.
Meanwhile, developers at Cappawhite propose to lodge an application to develop 15 wind turbines for a 20-megawatt wind farm with the potential to power 15,000 homes.
The Ballinveny and Borrisnafarney wind farm is near the Devil's Bit mountain, six to seven kilometres from Money gall, Toomevara and Temple more.
The developers, the Mounsey family, from outside Nenagh, plan to erect the turbines, which are 82.5 metres in height.
They said the location of the wind farm near the Devil's Bit "results in the development being obscured from the large proportion of the surrounding countryside".
An Taisce agrees and "supports, in principle, the generation of electrical power by means of renewable resources such as wind.
"The proposed scheme is for a relatively small installation, and its siting appears to fit into the landscape with a limited impact," An Taisce commented in a submission to the council during the planning stage.
The turbines on the north Tipperary wind farm would be one kilometre apart, over a 20 sq km area, helping to soften the visual impact of the development. Developers say the turbines would not be visible within 65 per cent of the planned development zone.
The environmental planning consultant for the developer, Mr Andy Dunne, of Environmental Agricultural Services in Portlaoise said the development, when it goes ahead, has the capacity to power a town between the size of Roscrea and Thurles.
"For investors the initial capital investment for such a project is enormous. It costs £650,000 to £700,000, a ballpark figure, per turbine to be finished completely," Mr Dunne added.
The final planning permission for the project is expected in May.
Until then it is open to appeal. However, to date no appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanala.
Conditions attached to the development of the north Tipperary wind farm include archaeological and visual impact concerns. The developers are also expected to pay a development levy of £6,000.
Meanwhile, wind-farm developers at Cappawhite, further south in the county, have been in consultation with the local community recently.
DP Energy Ltd, a Cork-based green energy company, is planning to erect as many as 15 in the area.
Individual turbines are expected to stand 90 metres in height, producing as much as 20 megawatts of power.
"We hope to submit a planning application within a month to six weeks," said Mr Simon de Pietro, a spokesman.
Currently DP Energy was "running through details" with the local community group, he said. An "open day" is scheduled for early May.
"We have done flora and fauna studies and the archaeology. At the moment we are working on the visual study. There we are waiting for feedback from the planners and of course from our second open day," Mr de Pietro said.
DP Energy is examining other potential sites throughout Tipperary and is currently developing similar energy facilities in Leitrim, Waterford, Clare and Cork.