This article is from page 30 of the 2008-01-22 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
Coie tre for Environmental Living and Training (CELT) in Scariff to plans for the development of eight 410 ft high turbines that will supply elec- tricity to 22,000 homes.
As part of the plan, the developers propose to remove 425 acres of for- est plantation.
Clare County Council is due to make a decision on the submission by Ventus Energy before the end of the month but local residents have
already lodged objections and the Department of the Environment has also expressed concerns.
In a fresh objection, CELT claims that “contrary to local community attempts to regenerate the economy, available data shows that house and farm prices in the vicinity of wind farms drop by up to 20 per cent”.
The group claims that this would be unacceptable to the local commu- nity who are “trying to regenerate the economy of this disadvantaged region’.
The objection continues, “Small turbines for single households or small communities are the only type acceptable. The proposal for new generation 3MW massive turbines is
totally out of the question; standard- sized turbines as at Derrybrien are unacceptable.
‘“Land-based wind farms should be a thing of the past. There is now the technology and opportunity to situ- ate wind farms at sea where they will maximise use of the Atlantic winds and minimise pressure on the envi- ronment, tourism and local commu- nities.
“If they must be situated on land, then it ought to be in an unpopulated area away from designated landscape and near to the coast and a smaller scale development.
“The size of designated areas is totally inadequate and on this basis CELT would be concerned that these
designations will be forcibly en- larged by intervention from the EU and any damage to the landscape/ ecology/habitats would then have to be rectified.
‘To interfere with this important ecosystem and habitats is contrary to all efforts to improve and enhance biodiversity in accordance with EU directives.
‘Several migratory bird species are known to frequent the area including protected greenland white-fronted geese, lapwing, golden plover, red erouse, merlin, peregrine, kestrel, snipe, curlew and a number of spe- cies of bat — all of these would be threatened by rotating wind turbine blades,” the CELT objection states.