Huge number of complaints made against Offaly Wind Farms

THE Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group has told the Tribune this week that a “huge number” of complaints have been made against Wind Farms in Offaly over the last few years.
The Lemanaghan Group, which is opposed to the construction of a wind farm in its vicinity, said the County Council Executive wouldn't release information about the complaints, until pressured to do so, a fact which the Group finds “deeply concerning” because of the Council's “lack of transparency”.
When the Council Executive eventually released the information, after several months of being asked to do so, there were 270 complaints released.
Quite a number of the complaints came from residents living in the vicinity of the Cloghan and Meenwaun Wind Farms and were issues related to Noise Pollution, Sleep Disturbance and Shadow Flicker. A number of complaints were also received from residents living in the vicinity of Cloncreen Wind Farm and were related to construction issues, such as machines working late into the evening and excessive dust.
The Lemanaghan Group has been campaigning for several years against the construction of 17 giant wind turbines, with a height of 220 metres, on their bog.
They told the Tribune that, “We find concerning the lack of openness surrounding a number of complaints lodged with Offaly County Council about wind farms across the county.”
Seamus Corcoran and Ciara Egan of the group said that over the past year they had sought information about the nature of these complaints through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests made to the Freedom of Information Officer in the Council Executive. “Unfortunately, these requests were turned down by the County Council mainly on the grounds that personal information could not be shared, despite our clear statement that we were not seeking such details — only the nature of the complaints.”
Frustrated, the Group made contact with Brenda Dowling from the Community Environmental Protection Alliance (CEPA) about the problem. Ms Dowling told them that Offaly County Council was the only council in Ireland unwilling to provide such information. The CEPA representative told the group that she was able to retrieve similar details from other councils, a fact which highlighted that Offaly's local authority was at odds with Ireland's other local authorities in how this matter was being handled.
“We believe,” commented the Lemanaghan Group, “that it is in the public’s interest to understand the nature of complaints made to their local council, especially when these issues may significantly impact residents’ quality of life on top of so many other issues.”
A couple of months ago, after considerable effort, Ms Dowling was finally able to retrieve this information. Using the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information to back her up she succeeded in getting from the County Council copies of the complaints.
The Lemanaghan Group commented that the letters of complaint reveal that because of the wind farms people had been “forced to stay away from their homes at times. It makes for alarming reading as to how this can be acceptable. People spend a lifetime building the home that they want to feel safe and live in peace in, to then be forced into accepting something that turns out to be the complete opposite. They are expected to put up and shut up. They then try to put the house on the market and they find great difficulty in selling and if they do find a buyer, they have to accept a much smaller offer than it would be generally.”
Seamus and Ciara added that for years the Lemanaghan Group has observed the negative effects of windfarms situated in close proximity to homes. “And we understand and appreciate that it varies and can differ from place to place.”
They pointed out that while the Group fully supports the transition to renewable energy as a critical part of the nation's electricity supply, “it is also evident that renewables alone cannot be relied upon as a primary energy source. As Eamonn O’Reilly from the Irish Academy of Engineers pointed out on national media recently, without a backup plan, we face the risk of energy shortages, given that wind and solar are intermittent. Battery storage, as it stands, is insufficient for long-term energy needs. Without sustainable alternatives or robust back up systems, Ireland risks energy insecurity. We would need to import electricity from other countries, which will push up already expensive prices.”
The Group added that another pressing issue is the environmental damage caused by wind farms, particularly on our peatlands. “These areas,” they said, “already degraded by years of peat harvesting, are vital for biodiversity. They host a range of species and offer a refuge for wildlife. If left undisturbed, they could thrive and provide immense ecological benefits. However, the human activity associated with wind farms disrupts these fragile ecosystems, undermining conservation efforts.
“As a group, we are deeply troubled by these developments and urge reevaluating how we approach renewable energy and environmental conservation.”
If built, the Lemanaghan Wind Farm would generate around 80 to 100 MW of renewable power. Many locals object to the idea of the Visual Intrusion of towering turbines being built in their area. For years the road passing through their area has been lined with signs stating, ‘No wind turbines’. The Group wants the bog to be preserved and to be allowed to grow back naturally. They also point out the importance of the rich archaeology of the bog. They point out that in the radius of less than three kilometres around the bog, there are 245 houses “and we feel the infringement of turbines would have a detrimental effect on people.”
Bord na Móna, which is overseeing the construction of the wind farm, has promised that local residents' concerns will be considered as part of the planning application. "The archaeological, architectural and cultural heritage of Lemanaghan Bog, and its surrounds,” the company said, “will be considered as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) that will accompany the planning application for the proposed development of Lemanaghan Wind Farm. Since this project first launched in 2021, the project team and its community liaison officer have engaged with the local community on an ongoing basis in relation to the proposed wind farm."
The Government hopes to generate 80% of all electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade. However, following the massive power shortages in the Iberian Peninsula recently, some people are questioning the wisdom of this approach.