Green light for Tipp wind farm
An Bord Pleanála has granted conditional planning permission for a high-energy wind farm in the Devil's Bit area.
Buirios Ltd has been given the go-ahead to develop nine wind turbines on a 400-hectare site in the townlands of Borrisbeg, Eastwood, Ballycahill, Knockanroe, Clonmore, Graffin and Skehanagh. The site is approximately 2.5km to the northeast of Templemore town. The summit of Devil's Bit mountain lies around 6.5km to the west.
Because the wind farm would have an energy output of over 50MW, the planning application was made directly to An Bord Pleanála as a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID).
A number of local residents made submissions, in which a series of issues were raised. These ranged from road impact and safety concerns to visual impact, property devaluation, flood risk and ecological concerns.
An Bord Pleanála last month granted permission for the development, subject to a series of conditions. The turbines are to have, as planned, an overall tip height of 185 metres. The hub height is 103.5 metres. The permission is for 30 years from the date of the commissioning of the turbines.
POWER FOR ALMOST 50,000 HOMES
The wind turbines will have a total generating capacity of 63MW, enough to power 47,304 households with electricity per year. Among other features, the development is to include a 30-metre meteorolgical mast, and a new temporary access road to facilitate delivery of turbines to the site.
The turbines are to arrive from Dublin Port and will be delivered via the M7, exiting at junction 22 onto the N62 before reaching the temporary access road. Minor accommodating works will be required at junction 22 to facilitate delivery.
An 18 to 24-month construction timeframe is envisaged. During operation, on a day-to-day basis the wind turbines will operate automatically, responding by means of meteorological equipment and control system to changes in wind speed and direction. Regular - one or two daily - onsite inspections will also be carried out by the wind farm operations management company.
There will be a significant financial gain for the local community arising from the wind farm. If developed under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS), Buirios Ltd would contribute €2 for each megawatt hour of electricity produced for the first 15 years operation of the wind farm. This would provide a Community Benefit Fund amounting to around €400,000 per anum.
If the development is not progressed under the RESS, the applicant would contribute €1 into the Community Benefit Fund for each megawatt hour of electricity produced by the wind farm - estimated annual fund of €200,000 - for the entire operational life of the project.
This would equate to payments of at least €1,000 a year to households within 1km of the turbine locations.