Tag Archives: wind farms

A CHAIN of windfarm developments is on the way to East Clare, with turbines up to 180 metres in height, unless An Bord Pleanála makes appropriate decisions, members of Clare County Council warned this week. At Monday’s council meeting they discussed the development of a windfarm at Oatfield, which the council executive are making a submission to An Bord Pleanála on, while the Killaloe area councillors are making a separate submission. Killaloe councillor Tony O’Brien (FF) said there could be “a proliferation of massive, industrial size wind turbines stretching from Bodyke and Ogonnelloe right down across Broadford, the 12 O’Clock Hills, Sliabh Bernagh, right down into Meelick and all areas in between.” A number of East Clare residents were at the meeting and he said the councillors fully understand their opposition to having huge turbines built close to their homes. “Your concerns are our concerns,” he said. Councillor Gerry Flynn (Ind) also said the Oatfield development is just the start. …

With Ireland working to reduce its carbon emissions and gain energy security, wind power is the obvious choice, so Bridget Ginnity looks at where we stand in harnessing this renewable resource WIND power has had a big impact on Ireland. Around the 9th century the Vikings harnessed the power of the wind to sail thousands of miles and landed on our shores, the first long distance travel in our hemisphere. And, 1,200 years later, the Danes are still harnessing the power of the wind. They currently have over twice Ireland’s wind generating capacity and a major offshore development with enough generating power for twice their population is well advanced. Ireland’s wind capacity Although not as successful as our distant relatives, Ireland has made substantial progress in wind generation. An average of 40% of our power now comes from wind, a significant achievement. The target is 80% renewable electricity by 2030, a challenging target but achievable if we proceed quickly. Wind …

IN a wide ranging interview with The Clare Champion on February 28, 2014, the then business man, Donald Trump, said that wind-farms were “destructive, destroy tourism, depreciate property values and kills birds.” He made his comments during a telephone interview from his office in New York following his purchase of Trump International Doonbeg earlier that month. Up to that point, he had been unaware that Clare Coastal Wind Power had submitted revised plans to Clare County Council for the construction of nine wind turbines, two kilometres south of Doonbeg village. The now President Trump outlined his deep concerns for bird life, focusing specifically on the Bald Eagle. “They wipe out the birds,” he said of wind-farms. “You might as well be standing at the shore with a shotgun. They just wipe them out. In Arizona we have the Bald Eagle. If you kill a Bald Eagle, they put you in jail and yet the windmills have killed all of them. …