March 17, 2016
Northern Ireland

Work on wind farm site resumes after threats to company

By Ryan McAleer | Ulster Herald | March 17, 2016 | ulsterherald.com

Work has resumed on a wind farm site near Carrickmore just months after masked gunmen issued threats against a construction team.

Employees from Omagh engineering firm Alexander Civil Engineering packed up and left the site at Gortfinbar after two masked gunmen visited the site in November and ordered them to leave.

The UH understands that electricity supplier Energia has since purchased the project from previous developer Doreen Walker. In the past number of weeks, Kerry based company Moriarty Civil Engineering has resumed work to erect the five large turbines at the Whitebridge Road site.

It was shortly after 5pm on November 5 2015 when the two men wearing balaclavas and brandishing a firearm drove onto the location and burst into the site office.

Employees were ordered to vacate the site within 24 hours and not return.

Staff from Alexander, who had been on site since September, packed up and left the following day.
Now work has resumed at Gortfinbar.

Ger McElligot of Tralee based Moriarty, said Irish gas and electricity supplier Energia had contracted the company to complete the work.

“We have assurances from the company that we are working for, that there was no issue with us going there to carry out the work,” he told the UH. “So far we haven’t had any issues.”

News of the threat to the Alexander employees last year sparked dismay over the impact on local jobs.

However Mr McElligot said most of the current workers back on site have been sourced from the North.

“They would be mainly northern based people on the site,” he said.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/03/17/work-on-wind-farm-site-resumes-after-threats-to-company/