Proposed wind farm in Clare halved in size  

Credit:  GORDON DEEGAN, www.irishtimes.com 26 May 2011 ~~

The developers of a proposed 400ft wind farm in west Clare have halved its size after concerns were expressed by local residents.

Last year McMahon Finn Properties lodged plans for a 12-turbine 13MW wind farm 9km from the coastal village of Quilty.

The plan faced objections from a number of locals, and now the company has relodged plans halving the number of turbines to six.

The application coincides with a separate application for a sixturbine 430ft wind farm by Seahound Wind Energy Developments at Kilmaley.

Both projects are seeking to take advantage of the aim in the new Clare County Development Plan to have a minimum target of 550MW from wind energy by 2017.

A wind farm with a capacity of 19.5MW is already built in the general area, with planning permission for six other applications at Booltiagh, Boolynagleragh, Glenmore, Cahermurphy, High Street and Kiltumper with an aggregate capacity of 85MW.

A decision is awaited from An Bord Pleanála concerning an 84MW 28-turbine farm on the slopes of Mount Callan.

Documentation lodged with the McMahon Finn proposal states: “In the event that all permitted development plus the Mount Callan project were constructed this would amount to 202MW or 81 per cent of the strategy target.”

Consultants for McMahon Finn Properties say the proposal on a landholding of 224 acres represents 5.5 per cent of the overall target. In documentation lodged with the plan they state the original planning application “was withdrawn following consultation as its proposed layout and extent were considered unsuitable”.

It states: “The revised development for Coor Shanavogh is significantly scaled down in both layout and size and comprises six turbines.”

The documents lodged with the application state that “the site is not immediately adjacent to or within, either wholly or partially, any areas designated for nature conservation”.