One year of protests over plans for new wind farm in Limerick village

THIS WEEK marks the first anniversary of regular protests in Adare over plans for a wind farm in Coolcappa.

The Coolcappa Community Action Group are concerned about the proposals from Ballynisky Wind Energy to construct six turbines with an overall height of 158 metres near the village.

Since March 2024, members of the group in the west Limerick village have staged regular demonstrations in Adare village on the main N21 road.

Not only is this because the developer’s offices are in the village, they also want to capture the attention of the thousands of passing motorists each day.

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“Our biggest concern is our health. This is going to affect everybody. Whether from noise or shadow flicker, the impact will be felt by everyone in the community in some way,” said group spokesperson Donal Egan.

Shadow flicker takes place when the sun is low enough in the sky - in evenings and mornings - that wind turbines pass across it causing a brief shadow over landscapes and buildings every few seconds.

For its part, the developer, Ballynisky Green Energy has said the turbines are designed with technology which prevents shadow flicker.

The firm said it remains open to talks with residents, but the Coolcappa Community Action Group says Ballynisky would only attend a public meeting.

This is something they feel is unacceptable.

Local farmer Mary Barrett, whose family has lived in Coolcappa for generations, said: “We’ve worked this land for decades and this wind farm would disrupt our way of life. We believe there are more suitable locations for such developments that would minimise disruption to local communities.”

The Coolcappa Community Action Group has continued to express concern over the fact the HSE was not consulted in previous wind farm applications, with members questioning how a development of this scale can proceed without health assessments.

The fact the guidelines around oversight of wind farm applications have not been updated since 2013 is something that was raised in Dail Eireann by Independent Ireland Limerick TD Richard O’Donoghue with An Tanaiste Simon Harris.

“Planners lack the expertise to assess public health risks. What is the State’s position on wind farms and their health impacts,” Mr O’Donoghue asked.

In response Mr Harris said: “This is one of the reasons why we have explicitly stated in the Programme for Government that this has gone on for far too long.”

He acknowledged the guidelines in relation to wind farm applications need to be updated.