Offaly County Council seeks immediate publication of delayed wind energy regulations

Independent Cllr Sean O'Brien has called on the Government to update and formalise the "completely outdated regulations" for wind energy developments in the county.

The Tullamore Municipal District councillor raised the issue at the monthly meeting of Offaly County Council during which he called on the local authority to write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne, requesting that the new guidelines be finalised.

Members of the Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group staged a protest prior to the meeting, voicing their disapproval at a proposal by Bord na Móna to develop a wind farm at the location. While the proposal is still at the pre-planning stage, the Lemanaghan group has been objecting to the proposal for a number of years.

A press statement issued by the community group thanked the councillors who supported the issue and "gave voice to the concerns of local communities who have been living with the impacts of large-scale wind energy projects without sufficient protections".

Noting that Offaly was a host county for a pipeline of renewable energy projects, Cllr O'Brien expressed his concern that a review of the wind energy development guidelines had yet to be completed.

"The current regulations, in place since 2006, are completely outdated and I see this as a serious issue for Offaly County Council," Cllr O'Brien said.

The councillor stated that there were over 200 complaints received relating to one particular wind energy development in the county.

"The complaints are relating to noise pollution, sleep deprivation and shadow flicker, these issues need to be addressed under the new guidelines. I am aware that the council requested one particular operator to shut down the turbines between 2am and 3am, but they would not comply, so that particular wind farm was essentially non-compliant in relation to noise," Cllr O'Brien said.

The councillor said it was expected the guidelines would be provided by the Government in the first quarter of this year but as of yet they have yet to materialise.

"We need to have these guidelines as a priority now. The complaints remain constant regarding potential developments and I do expect that we, as a Council, will be seeing more wind energy project applications in the county," Cllr O'Brien added.

Cllr Hughie Egan acknowledged that the wind energy draft guidelines were "sitting on the shelf for far too long", while calling on Bord na Mona to "stand back" from their wind farm proposal at Lemanaghan Bog.

"I am strongly appealing to Bord na Móna to stand back from this heritage site which is linked to Clonmacnoise. Do you really need this piece of land for a wind farm? As a county Offaly has made quite a lot of heavy lifting in terms of renewable energy projects but on this particular issue I hope that Bord na Móna hear the concerns of the Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group," Cllr Egan said.

Cllr Frank Moran queried if the members could avail of an opportunity to "amend" the wind energy strategy within the county development plan which he believed was due for review in November of this year.

Cllr Peter Ormond called for a "temporary pause" on large scale renewable projects while the council awaits publication of the updated wind energy development guidelines.

"You'd have to wonder what the delay is? This legislation, when published, needs to respect the people and their communities," Cllr Ormond said.

Meanwhile, Cllr Aoife Masterson stated that the now "defunct" wind energy development regulations were not in keeping with "international best practice" and called on her fellow councillors to put pressure on their respective political parties to ensure the issue was progressed as a matter of urgency.

It was unanimously agreed amongst the elected members present to write to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, requesting that the new wind energy development regulations be expedited and forwarded to Offaly County Council as a matter of urgency.