SMALL wind farm projects say they are being forced to go abroad for finance as they are being refused loans by Irish banks who say they can’t access funding due to Irish banking’s poor international image.

Ireland’s first urban wind turbine was switched on today at the Dundalk Institute of Technology by Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern.

It is expected that a new wind turbine being erected in Dundalk will supply power to the town's Institute of Technology.

Rising international oil prices have sparked warnings that Ireland must do more in the area of renewable energy to reduce its future dependence on imported oil.