July 28, 2014
Ireland

Wind farm projects to be discouraged in parts of Cork

By Sean O’Riordan | Irish Examiner | July 28, 2014 | www.irishexaminer.com

The building of wind farms will be discouraged along the scenic coastline of Co Cork and in some rural parts of north and mid-Cork.

New guidelines have been drawn up by county council officials as part of the six-year County Development Plan, which will come into force in 2016.

To date, 52 wind farms in Co Cork have either been built or have received planning permission from the local authority.

While the council wants to encourage the use of green energy, it does not want the rural landscape spoilt.

Andrew Hind, the council’s senior planner, said the primary areas under consideration for windfarm development would be south of Macroom and in areas southwest of Dunmanway, towards Bantry and Skibbereen.

Building them along the coastline will be discouraged, except in certain circumstances where businesses may be allowed to erect them if they want to generate their own electricity.

This has already happened in the Ringaskiddy area where Centocor, DePuy, and GlaxoSmithKline have each built a wind turbine to cut down on their electricity costs.

The turbines became operational last May. Novartis has also been granted permission to build one, but has yet to do so.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/07/28/wind-farm-projects-to-be-discouraged-in-parts-of-cork/