Element Power agree terms with IFA

Terms have been successfully negotiated and agreed between the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) and Element Power, a company that earlier this year announced plans for its €8bn "Greenwire" project to physically connect wind farms in Offaly and other midlands counties to the UK National Grid. It comes some two months after the IFA negotiated a contract policy with Mainstream Renewable Power, which also plans to supply the UK with wind energy from a midland energy hub. Details of the latest agreement are contained in Element Power's November/December 2012 newsletter. According to the newsletter agreement was reached earlier this month regarding a package of measures offered to landowners in Offaly, Westmeath, Laois, Kildare and Meath. The agreed terms will apply to all landowners who opt in or have already opted in to the project, regardless of when option agreements were signed. Preliminary environmental studies are currently taking place on hundreds of midland farms under consideration for the project with a view to applying a planning permission in autumn 2013. A decision on final sites will not be taken until summer 2013 however. "This is an important reassurance for many landowners and Element Power is grateful to the IFA for it input, professionalism and support of Greenwire," a statement in Element Power's latest newsletter said. Meanwhile Joe Parlon of Offaly IFA confirmed negotiations with Element Power have been completed and said his group is "reasonably happy" with the terms agreed. He said negotiations held with both Mainstream Renewable Power and Element Power resulted in "huge improvements to both contracts", but said the contracts are "quite different". Mr Parlon said a meeting was held in Tullamore last week, with farmers guided through each contract in detail. While some landowners have been approached by just one of the two companies terms have been agreed with over the past number of months, many have been approached by both. Mr Parlon said after last week's meeting farmers approached by both companies have now been left "to make their own decisions".