August 21, 2007
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
RES UK & Ireland Ltd has received full planning permission to build a 10 turbine wind farm at Gruig, near Loughguile, Co. Antrim.
The new project will be adjacent to the existing wind farm at Corkey, which was also developed and built by the RES Group in 1994. It is estimated that the new wind turbines, alone, will generate electricity equivalent to the needs of 14,000 homes, every year.
Lucy Ford-Hutchinson, Project Manager for RES UK & Ireland, said – “Wind energy makes sense for Northern Ireland, as we are one of the windiest parts of Europe and are heavily dependent on polluting, imported fossil fuels like oil and gas. Gruig Wind Farm will provide a clean, renewable and local source of energy and will help to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas.”
The wind farm will be located 3km east of Corkey village, 5km southeast of Loughguile and 6km east of Cloughmills. Planning permission was granted for 10 turbines, site tracks, a substation and meteorological mast. The project will be built by Renewable Energy Systems Construction Ltd, using subcontractors drawn from the local and wider markets for the civil and electrical works.
The planning application, accompanied by a full environmental statement, was made in 2004 and was preceded by a 6-month long information programme for the local community and their representatives – involving door-to-door visits, letters, public exhibitions and press releases.
Gruig is the second RES wind farm to gain planning approval in Northern Ireland this year, the first being Slieve Divena near Sixmilecross, Co. Tyrone. The combined capacity of these two wind farms will be 50 megawatts – providing a significant boost to Northern Ireland’s renewable energy generation.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/08/21/gruig-wind-farm-gets-go-ahead/