Irish court quashes permission for 96-MW wind farm by Bord na Mona

Ireland’s High Court has overturned An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant planning permission for a 96-MW wind farm proposed by Irish developer Bord na Mona Plc in in Co Longford.

The Derryadd scheme, cleared by Ireland's national independent planning body in June 2020, was challenged by environmentalist Peter Sweetman who insisted that the approval be quashed on the grounds that the project application did not contain all necessary details in order to be greenlighted under domestic planning regulations.

Justice Richard Humphreys upheld the legal challenge earlier this week. According to him, if built at its maximum dimensions, the wind farm’s turbines would be the tallest structures in Ireland. The decision highlights that the core elements regarding the wind farm’s design have been left to the post-consent stage, while no specific details were given about the turbine design relative to their particular siting, the scale and extent of the development and the project’s potential impacts.

Bord na Mona PowerGen Ltd’s plan envisages the installation of 24 turbines with a maximum height of 185 metres from the ground to the blade tip on peatlands across Derryadd, Derryaroge and Lough Bannow bogs.

The scheme also includes the construction of a 110-kV electrical substation with battery storage.

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