High Court orders total shutdown of three wind turbines in Wexford due to noise nuisance 

The high court has ordered that three wind turbines in Co Wexford be totally shut down due to noise nuisance.

It’s understood to be the first time that a court in Ireland has ordered the total shutdown of a wind turbine.

Raymond Byrne and Lorna Moorhead live around a kilometre from the nearest turbine of the six-turbine Gibbet Hill Wind Farm near Bunclody in Co Wexford. Four of the turbines are near the summit of Gibbet Hill, with two located at the sub-peak.

Byrne and Moorhead initiated legal proceedings against ABO Wind Ireland Ltd, ABO Wind OMS Ireland Ltd, and Wexwind Ltd and claimed that the wind farm had “destroyed” their quality of life and enjoyment of their home.

The couple said the noise, vibrations and shadow flickers emitted from the turbines has resulted in sleep disturbance, stress and anxiety.

They added that the value of their home has significantly declined due to the “permanently unpleasant environment.”

They said their sleep was severely impacted and that they had “no escape” from the noise.

At one stage they moved into a smaller room at the back of the house that was initially one of children’s bedrooms when he was a baby but was now essentially a walk-in wardrobe.

However, this offered no relief from the noise.

The judge undertook a site visit in March and said that the noise to his “unsensitised ear initially sounded as if an aircraft might be flying overhead”.

Midway during the six-week trial, the defendants admitted liability and switched the turbines off at night, between 10pm and 7am.

At the end of the case, the defendants proposed also switching the turbines off between 7am and 11am on weekends and bank holidays.

However, they also put forth a proposal to continue the noise nuisance for the remaining hours, but to pay damages for future ongoing nuisance. A proposal was also made to deal with the sporadic shadow flicker.

The defendants had asked the court to consider damages based on the notional capital damage to the property.

But the judge remarked that it would be “unjust and potentially discriminatory” to award compensation on this basis, as people would be awarded “wholly different amounts of compensation for the same type of interference”.

The judge added that in general, a defendant should not be able to pay damages to be allowed to continue to commit a nuisance that remains substantial.

And while the judge acknowledged that the defendant’s contribution to renewable energy here is “highly significant”, he added that the energy generated by the turbines in question is a “tiny percentage”.

The judge also said numerous solutions short of a complete shutdown would usually abate the problem, the defendant’s own expert witness confirmed that the only order that would stop the nuisance would be a total shutdown of the turbines.

He added that for “reasons that are not entirely clear, the defendants chose not to engage in any meaningful way with the genuine and substantive complaints made by the plaintiffs”.

The judge concluded that it was “fair, just and appropriate! To make a “permanent order directing that the three turbines in question be shut off completely”.

He said the option of allowing the defendants to “essentially pay damages to be allowed continue the nuisance during the daytime and evenings is not appropriate”.

He added that the conclusion is “limited to the circumstances” of this case and the defendant’s decision to “largely ignore and then fail to engage in any meaningful way”.

The judge ordered compensation of €120,000 to €180,000 to each plaintiff for the admitted nuisance, which commenced in May 2013.

He also remarked that the “response and approach of the defendants for the 12 years prior to the trial was seriously unimpressive”.

The judge said this approach “significant aggravated and prolonged the upset, disturbance and distress” and he therefore awarded additional sums of €24,000 and €36,000 in aggravated claims.

In a statement following the judgement, an ABO Energy spokesperson said the company is “committed to being a responsible developer and a good neighbour”.

ABO Energy Ireland constructed the Gibbet Hill wind farm, and it was subsequently acquired by its current owners, Wexwind Ltd., in 2013.

The spokesperson said ABO O&M is contracted by Wexwind Ltd. to provide technical services to the wind farm.

The spokesperson added that it is “important to stress that this case relates to a specific combination of circumstances at Gibbet Hill”.

“Going forward, it is important that the planning system and all relevant policy and guidance provide certainty to developers and the public, too,” said the spokesperson.

“This will enable the delivery and operation of the renewable energy projects needed in Ireland over the coming years, and the local and national benefits they create.”

Today’s decision follows a separate High Court ruling last week ordering a different wind turbine in Co Wexford to be shut down at night at certain windspeeds due to its potential to disturb sleep.

This separate case was the first private nuisance claim from wind turbine noise to run in Ireland or the UK, the judge said.