Wind farm proposals to increase production

PLANNING laws for wind farms are to be relaxed to increase Ireland’s production of clean energy, it was announced yesterday.

Environment Minister Martin Cullen said local authorities would have to identify areas which were suitable for wind farms in their development plans.

Under the draft guidelines published today, designated heritage or amenity areas will no longer be excluded from wind farm development.

Developers will not be required to consult with local communities, although the guideline authors said it would be helpful to put formal procedures in place.

And wind farm turbines, which are mounted on towers up to 100 metres tall, will not automatically be refused planning permission if they impact on an area’s scenic views.

Mr Cullen denied the new guidelines would lead to wind farms near theBurren or the Lakes of Killarney.

“We are only producing 1% of our energy requirements from wind energy. Now here is a tremendous energy resource that Ireland has and it’s out there and it’s effectively free and we’re not capitalising on it,” he said.

The Government’s target is to increase the percentage of electricity generated by renewable sources to 13% by 2010.

Under the Kyoto climate change agreement, Ireland is only allowed to have a 13% increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by the end of the decade. But the state body Sustainable Energy Ireland has predicted CO2 emissions will increase by 25% in the period, leaving the state vulnerable to huge fines.

Wind energy is seen as a clean alternative to fossil fuels and has been promoted by the Government since the establishment of the first Irish wind farm in Bellacorrick, Co Mayo in 1992.

There are now 32 wind farms with the capacity to produce 215 Megawatts of electricity, enough to power 140,000 homes.

Those involved include farmers who use the turbines to boost falling incomes and large private companies such as Airtri-city, which is building the country’s largest wind farm outside Ballybofey in Co Donegal.

The Irish Wind Energy Association welcomed the new guidelines but said they were only part of the solution.

Chairman Tim Cowhig said many members had planning permission for wind farms but could not get a connection to the national grid or a 15-year power purchasing contract from the ESB.

“We have over 1,000 MW of electricity in planning, but we are letting it pass us by,” he said.

Mr Cowhig said there were areas that wind farms should not be located in and that strict guidelines would ensure this remained the case.

The environmental charity An Taisce was not prepared to comment on the new guidelines, which it said it was still studying.