Permission refused for wind farms in mid-west

The State's alternative energy industry suffered a setback yesterday when two separate wind-farm projects were refused planning permission in the mid-west.

As well as the decisions to refuse planning permission for wind farms in east Clare and south Limerick, a third wind-farm project, proposed for the Moneypoint power station, was put on hold. This resulted from an appeal by local residents to An Bord Pleanála against a decision by Clare County Council to give the ESB the go-ahead for a €20 million wind farm at Moneypoint.

There was little local opposition to plans by two applicants to locate wind farms near Killaloe in east Clare and Kilfinane in south Limerick. However, both An Bord Pleanála and Clare County Council yesterday refused planning permission because of the visual impact which the wind farms would have on the rural landscape.

In relation to the east Clare proposal, Sure Engineering Ltd was seeking to locate a seven-turbine wind farm on the slopes of the highest peak in the area, Moylussa Mountain. With the capacity to provide electricity for 4,000 houses, the proposal encountered no local opposition.

However, Dúchas, the Heritage Service, pointed out that the hen harrier and the red grouse - both of which are protected under an EU directive on bird habitats - nest in the area. In its decision, the council ruled that the project would be visually obtrusive and out of character in the rural landscape.

In relation to the proposal by Mr John Clery, a Kilmallock farmer, for three turbines on the the slopes of Sliabh Reagh, three miles from Kilfinane village, the appeals board overruled the recommendation of its inspector and refused planning permission.