PLANNING permission is being sought to build a wind farm containing eight wind turbines in townlands about 9.7km north-west of Dunmanway.
Gortloughra Wind Farm Limited is seeking a 10-year planning permission from Cork County Council to construct the wind farm in the townlands of Shehy Beg, Gortloughra, Cloghboola and Inchinroe, which is 19km south-east of the county boundary between Cork and Kerry.
The development will consist of eight wind turbines with an overall ground to blade tip height of 175m, consisting of a rotor diameter of 150m and a hub height of 100m.
In its application, the development company addressed issues with potential ‘flicker’ (moving shadows), saying that it is committed to a ‘zero-shadow’ flicker strategy.
This means that the turbines shadow flicker module will be programmed to shut down whenever the conditions for shadow flicker are met, irrespective of which turbine in the range is installed.
‘The proposed development has been assessed as having the potential to result in neutral, imperceptible, long-term effects overall with regards to shadow flicker.’
The developer also said that the delivery of turbines to the site will generate low-level traffic noise, as the vehicles carrying the turbines will move slowly along the local roads where impact is expected to be greatest.
An assessment of the cumulative effects of noise from the proposed development together with nearby operational wind farms in a proximity of the proposed development has been undertaken.
‘The turbines to be installed on this site are able to operate in various modes. If specific conditions arise that AM (Amplitude Modulation) is generated, the operator can amend the operating mode to sufficiently mitigate the generation of AM or reduce the overall noise level in compensation to achieved set noise limits.’
The company added that the noise levels at the nearest receptors are orders of magnitude below the level at which risk of hearing damage or indeed negative effects are possible.
With regards to ecological impacts, the developer noted that during the preliminary roost assessment, no trees or buildings suitable as roosting or resting places for bats were recorded at the site.
However, during activity surveys in 2020, a total of three species of bats were recorded, and nine species of bats were recorded in 2020 and 2021.
‘The proposed turbine locations are all within open upland heath and bog areas, distant to any forestry stands or mature hedgerows and treelines. Therefore, the existing habitat will not be altered during the construction phase and the habitats present in the operational phase will be reflective of the baseline habitats.’
The company is also planning a 100m high meteorological mast, and the development of one on-site borrow pit as well as new permanent internal site access roads.
If approved, the plans include the upgrading of existing internal site access roads to include passing bays and drainage infrastructure.
Recreational community improvements include the erection of four permanent information boards relating to cultural heritage and upgrades to amenity tracks across the site.
According to the Cork County Development Plan 2022-2028 the site is located in an area classed as ‘open to consideration’ for wind farm development.
A decision is due by mid-May, and at the time of writing, three objections to the plans had been submitted.
