This article is from page 15 of the 2007-07-31 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
AN EAST Clare-based company has lodged plans for a wind farm which would supply up to half of the com- pany’s energy costs.
Its planning application to Clare County Council states that Olympus Diagnostica is “seeking a solution which would meet a portion 40-50 per cent of our electrical base load using alternative energy”.
The height of the proposed turbine is 200 ft high. The company points out that this is “half the size of the industry norm”.
The company states that it will con- sume all the energy from the wind turbine and that “there is no need for a grid connection”. It points out that “the proposal doesn’t lie within any recognised flight path of the Whoop- er Swan and the Greenland White Fronted Goose”’.
The company based near O’Callaghan’s Mills covers a broad spectrum of needs ranging from mi- croscope systems for life and mate- rial science, to high-performance analytical systems and reagents for clinical laboratories. It serves most- ly large and medium size hospitals, commercial clinical laboratories and blood banks.
In a submission lodged with the plan, the company states: “The ra- tionale for this project has its roots
in spiralling energy costs which are set by international markets and impact severely for two reasons: the wide fluctuation in energy costs which make financial planning more difficult and the underlying trend is upwards.”
Stressing its adherence to “Corpo- rate Social Responsibility”, Olympus points out that it has already reduced its greenhouse emissions by putting in place a wood chip burner instead of oil, so also creating a locally-based market for wood-chip.
The company states that the noise emissions from the wind-turbine would be lower than similar sized turbines. It suggests that the Clare County Development Plan has deemed the location “a suitable area for wind energy’ and doesn’t have any scenic or environmentally sensi- tive designations.”
The company also states that it has held a number of local meetings and has relocated the wind-turbine from its original location in response to lo- cal concerns. A second public meet- ing was held, although residents to the north east of the site stated that the new option would have a greater visual impact on them. However, the submission points out that this site 1s the last option open to Olympus that would allow the company comply fully with all the planning regula- tions.