Cork County Council has refused to grant permission for eight new wind turbines near Dunmanway, Co Cork.

The Gortloughra Wind Farm Project was set to deliver 48MW of renewable electricity capacity to the Irish grid and contribute a community benefit fund of approximately €3.5m over 15 years.

The proposed turbines would have had an overall ground-to-blade-tip height of 175m.

The wind farm was proposed by Statkraft, the Norwegian state-owned renewable energy company.

Refusal

Cork County Council gave two reasons for refusing the multimillion-euro wind farm.

Firstly, it stated that the proposed wind farm development would be located in an elevated, exposed, and open unspoilt landscape.

The development would lead to the removal of wet heath, blanket bog, and wet heath mosaic, all of which are considered habitats of special conservation significance.

Given the extent of peatland habitats to be removed to facilitate the proposed development, and notwithstanding the biodiversity enhancement measures proposed, the planning authority considered that granting permission would result in a net loss of biodiversity. This, in turn, would lead to a significant loss of habitat of special conservation significance.

Secondly, the Council noted that the proposed wind farm would be situated within a landscape character type of ridged and peaked upland, in an area of open unspoilt landscape with wilderness terrain, and in a location where commercial wind energy developments are ‘open to consideration’.

On the basis of the information submitted, and having regard to the siting and excessive height of the proposed turbines, the planning authority concluded that the development would seriously detract from the views and prospects from parts of the S29 scenic route.

It would also significantly harm the visual quality of the landscape and the visual amenities of the area, making the turbines visually obtrusive when viewed from there.