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Wind energy Blog post By Cllr. Maurice Shortall, Chair of Forward Planning and Development Strategic Policy Committee Planning for wind energy is potentially a divisive topic. On the one hand, the development of wind energy contributes to Ireland meeting its renewable energy targets, and it provides economic benefits to the landowners, and some employment potential. On the other, some see wind farms as blights on the landscape, having the potential to negatively affect landscape character, tourism, heritage, wildlife, recreation and existing residences in the area. There are many different scales of wind energy development, ranging from the domestic to the commercial. A domestic wind energy development usually comprises a single, small turbine which householders may want to place in their own gardens. A commercial development is known as a windfarm, and this normally comprises a group of several, very large turbines. In 2007, the Government introduced legislation for some exemptions from planning permission for small scale wind energy development, i.e. development for which planning permission is not required. The development of a single wind turbine within the curtilage (grounds) of a house of not more than 13 metres high (and subject to other standards as set out in S.I. No. 83 of 20071), may be considered “exempted development”. Similarly, on a farm, or within the curtilage of an industrial an industrial or light business premises, a single wind turbine of not more than 20 metres high (and other standards as detailed in S.I. No. 235 of 20082) may be considered “exempted development”. (If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact the Planning Department at 056-7794010.) Since 2006 the Government has given guidance on how to plan for wind farm development, in their Wind Energy Development Guidelines. This offers broad guidance to Planning Authorities for how to devise a strategy, and the factors to consider when assessing any wind farm applications. But the Council still has the power to make its own strategy and associated policies. Since 2008, Kilkenny County Council has a Wind Energy Development Strategy in place. The current strategy classifies the county into three areas based on their suitability for wind farm development. For example, it is unlikely that a wind farm will be granted planning permission in an area designated as “Not normally permissible”, whereas a wind farm may be granted permission in an area designated as “Acceptable in Principle”. As part of the review of the County Development Plan currently underway, the Wind Energy Strategy is being revised. At present there is permission for a total of seven wind farms around the county; one in Lisdowney, three near Mullinavat, two near Tullaroan and one near Johnstown. This adds up to a total of 34 turbines with permission. The question is, should we be more, or less, flexible in allowing for wind farm development? The Strategy will provide broad guidance on whether a particular area will be suitable or not, but there will also be a number of factors to consider in any application for a wind farm. These can range from the effects on any nearby residences, any effect on birds or species, to the visual effect on the landscape. The main effects on nearby residents can be noise and an effect on light, (what’s known as shadow flicker). The Government Guidelines state that “noise is unlikely to be a significant problem where the distance from the nearest turbine to any noise sensitive property is more than 500 metres”. Wind farm development has the potential to deliver jobs, including in project development, planning, construction, operation and maintenance of all wind farms as well as opportunities in support services such legal and financial roles. The figures cited for jobs created varies; from 90 jobs per 1,000 MW (0.3 per 3MW turbine3) to 5.5 jobs per 3MW turbine4. The main permanent job created is in turbine maintenance. The Strategic Policy Committee of Kilkenny County Council has carefully considered this issue, and spent a long time in coming up with the ‘right fit’ policy for Kilkenny. The Draft Development Plan will set out this new strategy for the period 2014-2020, and you will have an opportunity to express your view on this strategy when it is published this summer. Make sure you are registered with this Ourplan website, so that you will be notified as soon as the dates for public display are finalised. And if you wish to make a comment to respond to this post, please do so using the form below.
Map of wind farms with permission:
1 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2007/en/si/0083.html
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Comments
windfarms
Many thanks for that very helpful blog. As you state, it's a difficult issue to find the balance between non-fossil-fuel energy creation and adverse impacts. Another impact is the effect of the infrastructure needed, such as access roads or tracks to the turbines for servicing etc, which can interrupt or act as a barrier to wildlife migration routes. The need for an adequate electricity grid to connect to can involve more impacts on rural roads etc. No easy answers, but it's a very important issue with increasing speed of climate change driving biodiversity loss and increasing prevalence of invasive species.