High Court grants order to stop further works at Meenbog Wind Farm

A High Court order has been made prohibiting further development of a controversial wind farm near Ballybofey.

Mr Justice David Holland made the order this week prohibiting works at a site that was subject to a major peat slide in 2020 that had “significant environmental consequences”.

Donegal County Council has been granted the order, which prevents Planree Limited and Mid-Cork Electrical from further works at what they say is a “largely complete” 19-turbine project.

Mr Justice Holland held that the unauthorised development at the site consists of the entire windfarm and not each of or all of 25 material deviations.

The Judge found that he has jurisdiction to restrain any further works on the site – at least until the planning status is regularised.

The development is on a site of 990 hectares at Barnesmore Gap in townlands of Meenbog, Croaghonagh and Cashelnavean.

On 12 November 2020, a major peat slide occurred in an area in which a digger was being used to lay timbers and brash for a permitted floating road.

Thousands of tonnes of peat and conifers careered down into the Mournebeg river and the Shruhangarve burn on the construction site.

Court documents, seen by Donegal Live, estimate that “about 86,240m3 of peat slid – of which about 65,740m3 left the 'scar areas' and entered the Shruhangarve Stream via which it flowed into the Mourne Beg River31 and on to nearby European Sites, including in Northern Ireland, causing significant environmental damage”.

That November 2020 slide was preceded by two other slides in June 2020.

Parties agreed that Planree’s works caused, or at least contributed to the occurrence of, the November 2020 slide.

In 2022, the developers pleaded guilty to the pollution of the Shruhangarve and Mourne Beg stream and had since undergone a remediation programme under the watch of both Donegal County Council and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr Justice Holland described as “puzzling, unhelpful and entirely unrealistic” a written submission – which he said was submitted 'only days before the trial' – from Planree which contended that it was 'simply untrue' that the peat slide was caused by its development works.

“Planree’s own experts, Fehily Timoney and MKO, had long since made the contrary quite clear,” Mr Justice Holland said.

There was, however, no evidence that it was caused by negligence by Planree. Nor was the slide caused or contributed to by the Material Deviations, which were the subject of the High Court proceedings

While Planree have applied to An Bord Pleanála for substitute consent to regularise the status of the deviations, the company points out this could take years to be fully dealt with given the processing backlogs.

Donegal County Council began section 160 proceedings against Planree Ltd in April 2023. The notice of motion sought orders restraining the carrying out of any unauthorised development on the site pending the regularisation of the development through a substitute consent application.

The company said that it intended to complete the permitted development while the substitute consent application was bring processed.

Planree argued that they should be allowed to build out the remaining, authorised, elements and operate it pending the An Bord Pleanála decision on the substitute consent.

The main remaining element of the works is the installation of the turbines and rotors, which are in storage near Killybegs.

Planning permission for the wind farm was granted by An Bord Pleanála, via the Strategic Infrastructure Development process in 2018, subject to 20 conditions. In 2018, the permission was amended to effectively allow bigger turbines/longer rotor blades.

In his judgement, Mr Justice Holland said: “I hold that the unauthorised development at issue in these proceedings consists, by reason of the Material Deviations, of the entire Windfarm and not, discretely considered, of each or all of the Material Deviations.

“On that basis I hold that I have jurisdiction, if I think it proper, to restrain Planree’s further development of the Windfarm – at least pending regularisation of its present planning status.”

Mr Justice Holland added that he is, provisionally, of the view that Donegal County Council should be awarded its costs given that it succeeded in its application.

Planree Limited and Mid-Cork Electrical can apply to vary or discharge the order.

The development has received more than €100 million investment with 182 acres of Sitka trees having been felled to make way for the turbines.

It has previously been reported that Amazon committed to buying the energy from the completed 91.2MW Meenbog 19-turbine windfarm for Amazon Web Services.