Proposal to keep wind turbines 700m from homes

Wind turbines may be required to be a minimum of 700 metres from residential dwellings under proposals being considered by Environment Minister Alan Kelly.

He is shortly due to publish revised planning guidelines on the construction of windfarms, and it is understood that, in addition to increasing the minimum distance from residential dwellings, it will also include a height-to-distance mechanism, whereby the taller the turbine, the greater the distance it must be from residential properties.

Were the plans to be put it in place, it would shrink the amount of locations in the country that could accommodate wind turbines, particularly as the trend in recent years is for taller, larger turbines.