| Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Cork says no to eight new wind turbines
Credit: Stephen Robb · 26 May 2025 · farmersjournal.ie ~~
Cork County Council has refused to grant permission for eight new wind turbines near Dunmanway, Co Cork.
Cork County Council gave two reasons for refusing the multimillion-euro wind farm.
Firstly, it stated that the proposed wind farm development would be located in an elevated, exposed, and open unspoilt landscape.
The development would lead to the removal of wet heath, blanket bog, and wet heath mosaic, all of which are considered habitats of special conservation significance.
Given the extent of peatland habitats to be removed to facilitate the proposed development, and notwithstanding the biodiversity enhancement measures proposed, the planning authority considered that granting permission would result in a net loss of biodiversity. This, in turn, would lead to a significant loss of habitat of special conservation significance.
Secondly, the Council noted that the proposed wind farm would be situated within a landscape character type of ridged and peaked upland, in an area of open unspoilt landscape with wilderness terrain, and in a location where commercial wind energy developments are ‘open to consideration’.
On the basis of the information submitted, and having regard to the siting and excessive height of the proposed turbines, the planning authority concluded that the development would seriously detract from the views and prospects from parts of the S29 scenic route.
It would also significantly harm the visual quality of the landscape and the visual amenities of the area, making the turbines visually obtrusive when viewed from there.
The Gortloughra Wind Farm Project was set to deliver [up to] 48MW of renewable electricity capacity to the Irish grid and contribute a community benefit fund of approximately €3.5m over 15 years.
The proposed turbines would have had an overall ground-to-blade-tip height of 175m.
The wind farm was proposed by Statkraft, the Norwegian state-owned renewable energy company.
This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.
The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.
| Wind Watch relies entirely on User Contributions |
 (via Stripe) |
 (via Paypal) |
Share:
[ Short URL: https://wind-watch.org/news/?p=108112 ]
| Tag: Victories |
