In June, a proposal emerged by a private company to build a set of wind turbines on the hill at Athgarrett, Eadestown (on the Naas-Blessington road). The development was greeted with deep concern amongst the local community and series of public meetings were rapidly organised. I attended and spoke at all of these and have been working closely with the local group (Eadestown Against Spin).

There are multiple arguments for and against wind energy but the overriding issue to my mind at this time is that guidelines to steer and govern the planning and operation of these are known to be obsolete. Projects are underway at both national and local levels to implement new guidelines, implementing international best practice, which should address issues such as setback distance, shadow flicker, and noise pollution.

In the hiatus before these new guidelines are adopted, I feel it is premature to consider any planning applications and at my first full meeting of Kildare Country Council I tabled a motion to suspend all planning applications for wind energy projects pending fully updated regulations. I will also be lodging an objection to the specific proposal.

Read my previous post about this issue here.