A group of Donegal County Councillors have voiced serious concern over a proposed wind farm in the Glenties district.
Permission is being sought for the Clogheracor Wind Farm on the southern side of the Gweebarra River between Doochary and Lettermacaward.
An Bord Pleanala is currently considering an application for the development which consists of 19 turbines. As part of the decision, Donegal County Council was asked to submit a planning report.
“If this got the go-ahead it would be absolutely crazy,” Cllr Marie Therese Gallagher told the council today while considering the report.
The site is situated on 5,000 acres of mountainous bogland in the townlands of Cloghercor, Clogherachullion and Derryloaghan.
Concerns over bogslides, wildlife and transportation were discussed by the council today.
Cllr Marie Theresa Gallagher suggested several issues that the council should raise to strengthen its submission. The Glenties area councillor said that there are Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) adjacent to the site where there are a number of habitat directives. She added that there are also three pairs of golden eagles nearby which have been protected for almost two decades.
“If you look at reports on landslide susceptibility, it’s the same as what it is in Meenbog, even though that was not upheld as a directive, that is something we should include in our submission,” Cllr Gallagher added.
Cllr Gary Doherty, whose area was impacted by the Meenbog disaster in East Donegal in 2020, said: “We should make it clear we want an expert analysis to be taken into account by An Bord Pleanala and where it is shown that there is a susceptibility to landslide, that is clearly not suitable for large scale wind farm developments.”
Cllr Doherty said that expert analysis during the planning process of Meenbog was ignored by An Bord Pleanala.
Cllr Anthony Molloy added: “I think this is a crazy proposal, all the science and reports around climate change are against digging up peatland and we can’t cut turf.
“This is an area of high scenic amenity as well,” Cllr Molloy said, adding that “all the factors are against this proposal.”
Concern was also raised about how the turbines and blades would be transported to the site. The blades, ranging from 185m to 200m, were described as the biggest seen in Ireland.
The wind farm developers Ørsted and FuturEnergy Ireland have proposed temporarily modifying public roads to facilitate delivery.
“This is totally undoable, it’s the kind of thing you see in Australia. We don’t have a road in the place to move such a thing that is 500ft long,” Cllr Michael McClafferty said.
Cathaoirleach of Donegal Liam Blaney commented that it was his understanding that the materials would be transported in pieces and bolted upon delivery.
Councillors also sought for measures to ensure the development would not impact local drinking water sources.
Members passed a resolution to include the commentary as an addendum to the council’s report.
Cloghercor Wind Farm Limited, in its planning statement, said that the proposed development will have an electrical output of between 95-136.8 MW. The company said that the output would improve the security of supply and reduce reliance on energy imports in Ireland. The wind farm could supply sufficient electricity to power between 56,590 and 81,488 households with electricity each year, the equivalent of all households across County Donegal.
The construction of the proposed development will have an estimated capital cost in the region of between €123.5 million to €177.8 million and an estimated 11% of the total capital cost will relate to site works.
