Community in a spin over wind farm proposal near Bantry rising 169m into sky.
A COMMUNITY has rallied together in a bid to stop wind energy giant Enerco from erecting 14 turbines on the unspoilt hillsides near Bantry.
The wind farm proposal outlines constructing turbines at 169m (554ft), which would be two and a half times taller than the towering Elysian Building in Cork.
Locals are now crowdfunding in a bid to oppose what they describe as ‘industrial scale’ turbines which could ‘destroy’ the scenic Maughanaclea Hills and the rural landscape of Kealkill, Coomclogh, Cousane and the Mealagh Valley.
Enerco Energy set up a website to announce the plan, which is at pre-planning consultation stage and will go directly to An Bord Pleanala as a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID).
Maughanaclea residents have now launched a ‘Stop the Spin’ campaign and are fundraising to commission independent expert reports on the farm’s potential impact on human health, wildlife, archaeology, heritage, landscape and tourism.
Stop the Spin spokeswoman Noelle Aller Ontalba said the local community is outraged and fears for the future of its shared natural and cultural heritage, adding: ‘West Cork’s wild mountain ridges are under threat once again.
‘While this community supports renewable energy, they reject destruction disguised as progress. The Maughanaclea uplands are home to many protected wildlife species – birds, bats, amphibians, insects and mammals.
‘The destruction of peatlands, archaeological sites, and the visual harmony of this landscape could be irreversible.’
A number of proposals for wind farms in West Cork have been rejected over the past decade.
Ardrah Windfarm Ltd was refused permission for five turbines in the Mealagh Valley in 2014.
In 2025, Cork County Council refused permission for eight turbines at Gortloughra.
That decision is now under appeal.
Gougane Barra also came under threat when Wingleaf Ltd proposed up to seven 178-metre turbines, a plan that was finally rejected in 2024 after years of opposition and a High Court judicial review.
Noelle said Ireland’s 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines are now hopelessly out of date, something Taoiseach Michael Martin raised in the Dail in recent years.
‘These outdated guidelines fail to account for the massive increases in turbine size, noise output, shadow flicker and landscape dominance,’ she said.
‘Each turbine in the Enerco proposal includes rotor blades spanning over four acres, with ground to blade tip heights towering over sensitive upland habitats, rivers and historic rural settlements.’
Stop the Spin (stopthespin.ie) is asking locals to raise the issue with their local TD and make formal submissions to An Bord Pleanala when the formal application is lodged.
It claims though Enerco called to local residents and held a public meeting the company was ‘vague’ on some details of the project including submission dates.
Enerco Energy’s Community Liaison Officer for the Maughanaclea project Padraig Quille said: ‘We have carried out door-to-door consultation with houses within 2km of the proposed site to introduce the proposal to the community and we held a public information exhibition in Bantry on April 29th.
‘These consultation efforts have led to further discussions with several members of the community, and I remain available to meet any interested parties.’
He added that the company intended to hold another public meeting before the application, which will be accompanied by environmental impact surveys, is lodged.
