Planning flaws may force wind farm closures, lobbyist warns

Mr Cunniffe said the existing 'extremely slow rate of approvals for new projects' means there is 'a very real likelihood that by the late 2020s we will be connecting fewer wind farms than we will be shutting down'

The decommissioning of this many wind farms could lead to a loss of approximately 20% of the country’s installed wind energy capacity, according to Wind Energy Ireland.

Dozens of wind energy farms could be forced to shut down their operations in the next six years due to chronic issues in the planning system, an industry body has cautioned.

Nearly 80 wind farms with an installed capacity of 854MW will reach the end of their planning contracts between now and the end of the decade. Wind Energy Ireland warned that these projects may be decommissioned if developers cannot extend their planning permission or repower.