Application expected for €80m Sth Ros wind farm within months

Developers of a proposed 52 turbine wind farm in South Roscommon have said they are committed to progressing the controversial project on a phased basis through the local planning process, with an application for the development, estimated to cost up to €80 million to build, due to be submitted to the council within months. This news comes after the company withdrew its submission to An Bord Pleanála for the development, along with another planned for the midlands to be considered as a Strategic Infastructure project, a move if it were passed would mean the development would have bypassed the local authority planning system entirely and went straight to the planning appeals board for decision. The so-called Seven Hills Wind Farm project is earmarked for the townlands of Turrock, Cronin, Gortaphuill, Tullyneeny and Glenrevagh, close to Dysart in Roscommon and would generate power for over 21,000 homes. A spokesperson for the Cavan-based IWCM Ltd, which is developing the project on behalf of Galetech Energy, explained that the proposal to An Bord Pleanála consisted of two clusters but on review of independent environmental impact assessments completed on one of these clusters, a need for further surveys was indicated. As a result, the company could tell An Bord Pleanála the number of turbines proposed for one of the clusters and thus, could not verify if their proposal was above the threshold to be considered a Strategic Infrastructure project. The application was subsequently withdrawn from An Bord Pleanála and the company has committed now to advancing the project on a "phased basis". At present, the firm is currently progressing the Environmental Impact Statement and will be holding a public exhibition in the local area the coming weeks. A planning application is also expected to be lodged to Roscommon County Council within months, IWCM confirmed to the Westmeath Independent. During the construction phase it's thought that at least one quarter of the total cost will be retained in the local economy and as yet unquantified number of jobs during the building will be created. It's estimated the Roscommon wind farm project would contribute an annual reduction of 80,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.