Bord na Mona plan Offaly wind farm
BORD na Mona has announced details of a major development for Mountlucas. The company is planning to build a wind farm which will comprise a total of 32 turbines.
The proposed development, to be known as Mountlucas Wind Farm and which will be located on the existing cutaway bog, will have a generating capacity of 80MW. The large scale development will also include access trackways, crane hard-standings, underground cables between the turbines and a 110 kV electricity substation.
The company say once operational, the wind farm will improve the geographical distribution of wind energy facilities nationally and contribute to more balanced input of wind energy to the grid in support of the Government's 40% target for electricity from renewable energy sources.
It is expected that the construction of the new wind farm will take place over an 18 to 24 month period with up to 30 workers employed on the project at peak. Once in operation, the farm will support a small number of operation and maintenance jobs.
An application for connection of the wind farm to the national grid has been made to EirGrid. It is included in the Gate 3 list of projects to be processed for connection and it is scheduled to get an offer for connection to the system in early 2011.
A planning application is currently being prepared for the project and will be submitted to Offaly County Council within the next two months.
As part of the planning process, an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is being carried out into the potential impacts of the proposed development on the local environment. Public information sessions are also being held in Daingean and Walsh Island on June 23 and 24 respectively.
On completion Bord na Mona estimates that the farm will generate enough electricity to supply the needs of approximately 45,000 homes with green electricity.
It will also prevent the emission of 125,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year. The company says that in doing so it will help to combat climate change and contribute to the country achieving its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets as well as contributing to the achievement of the EU's mandatory renewable energy target set for Ireland.
The construction of the wind farm is part of strategy of diversification beyond its traditional peat-based businesses embarked upon by Bord na Mona.
As part of this diversification, the company says it intends to develop a portfolio of electricity generating plants, including wind farms, flexible gas fired generation stations and peaking units.
The company has been involved in milled peat production operations at the site since the 1950s and peripheral parts of the bog are still in active peat production. Those areas of the site that are still in active peat production will not be affected by the development of the wind farm, and peat production will continue as normal.
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Weather for Tullamore
Tuesday 22 May 2012
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