Community will enjoy windfall if wind farm gets green light

Date Published: 19-Sep-2012

Community and social projects in the south Connemara area could be in for a windfall if a wind farm project in the Lettermucu area gets the planning go ahead.

Gaoi an Iarthair Teo is offering a fund totalling over €1.1 million over a twenty year period to organisations within a ten mile radius of the proposed wind farm – from the time the business comes into operation.

The initial fund would be €250,000 with yearly additions of €50,000 in the two decades following. A spokesman for the company said that an independent group would be set up to assess applications and make payments.

The areas that could benefit from the fund would include Lettermore, Carraroe, Rosaveal, Camus and Ros Muc. However, the spokesman said that the boundary lines for grants would not be set in stone.

Further details regarding the project and the social contribution in the community will be given at a Public Information Day in the Rosaveal Community Centre this Saturday.

This is the second time that Gaoi an Iarthair Teo – a company associated with the south of Ireland based Enerco Ltd group – has sought planning permission for a wind farm project on the site in question.

The first application was for 27 wind turbines on the mountain location to the east of the main road from Derrynea to Screebe.

Galway County Council gave planning permission but that was turned down by an Bord Pleanála following a number of objections. Bord Pleanála commented that the scale of the proposed project was to obtrusive in the landscape.

The project is being scaled back to 13 turbines in the latest plans. The tallest scale of any of these turbines would be 135 metres.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.