Construction BUSINESS

According to a meeting of Kerry County Council, Kerry is generating 14% of the State’s wind-derived electricity with just over half of all the turbines granted planning in Kerry already erected or under construction. 217 of the 411 turbines granted planning have already been built or are under construction, two-thirds of them in North Kerry.

A large part of the meeting concerned the legal precedent set by a recent case won by a Donegal councillor in the High Court. It resulted in Donegal County Council having to adopt a new ‘proximity’ rule, meaning that turbines can be no closer to dwellings than a distance of 10-times their height. But under the existing guidelines set in 2006, turbines in Kerry can be erected as close as 500 metres.

County Councillor Jimmy Moloney told The Kerryman, “I will be proposing to adopt the Donegal proximity ruling in Kerry at our next meeting. The 500-metre proximity was set over 10 years ago when turbines typically reached a height of 40 or 50 metres.”

“Technology has advanced a lot since then with the turbines granted planning for Ballyhorgan up to 156 metres high. They should come no closer than 1.5kms.”

A document many in North Kerry believe is underpinning windfarm expansion in the region was also discussed: the Landscape Character Assesment. It found most of North Kerry of ‘no’ value from a scenic, tourist or recreational point of view and was referenced by An Bord Pleanála in its decision to grant planning for the Ballyhorgan farm.