Wind Power News: Northern Ireland
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Coronavirus: Economy department officials backed wind turbine grants
Officials at the Department for the Economy believed wind turbines “should be eligible” for coronavirus payments. Fifty-two wind turbine owners in Northern Ireland received emergency coronavirus funding from Stormont. The sector was subsequently ruled ineligible, after more than £500,000 was paid. The Department of Economy said once new information came to light, “eligibility was reconsidered” to protect the public purse. New papers obtained by the BBC Nolan Show reveal that officials “could not decide” on a way to withhold payments . . . Complete story »
Donegal: Ministers shocked at peat slide devastation
Ministers from both sides of the border have visited the scene of a huge peat slide on the Tyrone Donegal border. The incident saw thousands of tonnes of peat washed into an internationally protected salmon spawning river. Environment minister Edwin Poots and the Republic’s Agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue met at the scene outside Castlederg. They expressed shock at the extent of the damage which is the subject of a cross-border investigation. Mr Poots also visited a trout farm in the . . . Complete story »
Meenbog: Concerns brought by locals to wind farm developer over site ‘were ignored’
Independent TD for Donegal Thomas Pringle said local communities “cannot count on government to support their interests over developers” as he spoke about the peat slippage at the Meenbog wind farm site. The deputy has called for it to be a requirement of developers to pay for independent environmental assessments as part of the planning process. Raising the matter in the Dáil on Thursday evening (November 19), deputy Pringle said the Meenbog landslide is the “culmination of a long planning . . . Complete story »
Donegal: Peat landslide linked to wind farm raised in Dáil
A bog collapse which affected an internationally important salmon spawning river in County Tyrone has been raised in the Dáil. The collapse happened at the site of a wind farm under construction at Meenbog, near Ballybofey, County Donegal, last Thursday. A large quantity of peat slid down the hillside and ended up in the Mourne Beg River near Castlederg. It is a key spawning river for Atlantic salmon – a protected species. The river flows into the Foyle catchment which . . . Complete story »
Fears Donegal landslide has devastated EU protected salmon site
Anglers in Co Tyrone say they fear a huge peat bog landslide in Donegal could devastate an EU protected salmon spawning site. The slide happened at Meenbog Wind Farm near Ballybofey, Co Donegal on Friday. A number of trees were uprooted and moved as a large area of bog was swept into the Mourne Beg river, which flows into the River Derg just across the border in Tyrone. The company building the wind farm, Invis Energy, has confirmed the slippage . . . Complete story »
Company at centre of bogslide planning second windfarm in area
A company on whose land a huge bogslide took place causing a major ecological disaster outside Ballybofey have applied for a second wind farm in the area. Shocked residents yesterday received letters from Cork-based company Enerco Energy telling them of their plans for a new project. The project, which is also planned to be built at Meenbog, is understood to involve up to 17 new wind turbines. Company spokesman Stephen Quinn told residents in the letters of their plans. He . . . Complete story »
Fears expressed Donegal peat slippage will cause fish kill
The Ulster Angling Federation (UAF) has called for the development of a Co Donegal windfarm be suspended pending an investigation into a huge landslide close to the facility. Dramatic footage of trees, peat and other bog material being swept away near Meenbog Windfarm close to Ballybofey in Donegal and east Tyrone appeared on social media over the weekend. Nearby Corgary Road was closed on the Donegal side of the border last night at the Meenablagh Road junction over “concerns about . . . Complete story »
Plans for second wind farm leaves residents in state of disbelief just days after devastating landslide
Shocked residents dealing with a landslide from a wind farm construction site in Donegal were left reeling on the double after getting a letter from the same company telling them of plans to build another wind farm several kilometres away. The letter was dated last Thursday, the day before the slide at the Meenbog wind farm near Ballybofey started, and it arrived in letterboxes on Tuesday morning. Local councillor Gary Doherty said people were lost for words. “It’s hard to . . . Complete story »
‘Exactly what we were afraid of’ – inquiries launched into landslides amid fears of ‘serious pollution’
A landslide in Donegal is being classed as a “serious pollution event” after hundreds of thousands of tonnes of peat and forestry crashed down a hillside into a local river. Agencies from both sides of the Border are working to discover the cause of the landslide at an area near Ballybofey that is planted with commercial forestry and is also the site of the Meenbog wind farm being built to supply energy to Amazon data centres. The landslide began last . . . Complete story »
Donegal: Anglers warn of peat landslide pollution threat
A County Tyrone river turned black by pollution from a peat bog landslide may struggle to recover fully, an angling group has warned. It happened at Meenbog Wind Farm, near Ballybofey, County Donegal, in the Republic of Ireland on Friday. The quantity of peat that entered the waterway that runs into the Derg river is not yet known. However, NI Water has suspended drinking water supplies connected to the river as a precaution. The Ulster Angling Federation (UAF) said the . . . Complete story »
