New European rules mean decision on planned Limerick wind farm must be made within a year

A LOCAL councillor has expressed severe concerns that An Coimisiún Pleanála may not be able to fully scrutinise a planning application for a wind farm in his community.

A new 17-turbine wind farm is planned on a huge portion of land near the villages of Bruree, Dromin and Athlacca in south Limerick.

Sixteen of the turbines are set to tower up 160 metres - three times the height of Kilmallock Church spire, and 40 metres taller than the Spire in Dublin.

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There is huge opposition to the project, with an action group formed in opposition.

And at a special meeting of Limerick City and County Council last month, a number of elected officials made their feelings clear on the application.

In this number was Independent Ireland councillor John O’Donoghue, who stated: “This is one of the biggest things which will happen in this area and it will affect absolutely everybody. Not just the people living in the immediate area. They are saying there will need to be a 26km to 27km grid connection where the road will need to be dug up. It’s going to cause an awful lot of hassle to motorists.”

The application has been designated as what is known as a ‘Red three’ project by An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Red three project applications have been put in place following a directive from the European Union to provide faster and more predictable decisions on renewable energy plans.

It means An Coimisiún Pleanála must decide on applications for wind farms like this within the space of a year.

Referring to the application, Cllr O’Donoghue said: “There’s an awful lot of work in this one alone, not to mind what they have to do in the rest of the country, and there seems to be a flood of these coming in on top of each other. The timeframe is shortened in the sense that they have to get in there, get decisions made and get them back out as fast as they can. A big worry I would have is basically are they being given enough time to reflect on all these wind turbine applications?”

Council director general, Dr Pat Daly, has provided a report to the national planning authority which reflects how local members feel about the project.

For Cllr O’Donoghue, the turbines are too close together.

“When it comes to wind energy, Ireland is in a great spot, with the Atlantic coast and the Irish Sea. From what we are hearing, apparently, if you go a certain distance off the Irish coast, you can produce power 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. Inland, it’s harder to predict. The only way you can guarantee the wind speeds it to put in bigger, higher, taller structures,” he said.

This, the Adare-Rathkeale councillor argues, is what is happening here.

“Unfortunately these make more noise. If you have some of them too close together and you do not have the proper separation between them, they start ‘fighting’ for the wind and they make more noise which becomes completely unbearable,” he said.

The developer Ballinlee Green Energy declined to comment when contacted by the Leader.

However, a spokesperson for the firm has previously said the proposed project would play a key role in supporting national climate targets, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

“This project alone has the potential to provide clean power for up to 30,000 homes and reduce harmful carbon emissions by approximately 46,500 tonnes each year of operation. The energy project could meet 36% of the Limerick Development Plan's 2030 renewable energy commitments,” they added.