Gordon Deegan
An Coimisiún Pleanala is to stage an oral hearing into a planned wind farm for southeast Clare that AirNav Ireland and Shannon Airport are opposing.
It has told all parties in the case that the hearing on Thursday will focus purely on aviation issues relevant to Shannon Airport and the Woodcock Hill radar station in southeast Clare.
Limerick firm, Ballycar Green Energy lodged plans last year with the appeals board for the 12 turbine 50 megawatt wind farm to be located three kilometres northwest of Limerick city on a 105 hectare site neighbouring the townland of Ballycar.
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The plan has drawn 74 third party submissions, most of them opposing the project which would have wind turbine tip heights of 518 feet. Arising from the objections lodged by Shannon Airport and AirNav Ireland, An Coimisiún Pleanala commissioned an independent aviation review by consultancy, Sagentia Aviation.
In that review, Sagentia says its view is that, despite significant engagement, “the aviation concerns have not been addressed to the satisfaction of AirNav and the airport”.
While credible surveillance mitigation options do exist, Sagentia’s believes, it says further engagement is required to establish how the developer can move from a state of “conceptual certainty” to deliver a state of measurable evidence that would satisfy the concerns of the airport and AirNav and allow the project to move forward.
AirNav Ireland provides air traffic management and related services within the 451,000 square kilometres of airspace controlled by Ireland.
In its objection, AirNav Ireland manager of surveillance M&E systems, Charlie O’Loughlin said the development would result reduce safety in the Shannon en route and Dublin air traffic control centres which depend on the Woodcock Hill radar station.
Mr O’Loughlin says the proposed wind farm “would degrade the performance of the Woodcock Hill Radar”.
A spokeswoman for Ballycar Green Energy has previously stated that, if approved, the wind farm has the potential to displace almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime and provide the capacity to power more than 30,000 homes.
