Clare County Council has given the go-ahead for construction on the largest community owned wind farm development in Ireland.
The €200 million project will see West Clare Renewable Energy build 28 3MW wind turbines on a mountain slope between Ennis and Miltown Malbay, and will generate enough power to cover every home and business in Co Clare. Construction of the project will generate up to 300 jobs.
The project, which will cut carbon emissions by 4.4 million tonnes of carbon over its life time, will also meet the Limerick Clare Energy Agency's 2010 targets for emissions reductions and renewable energy production.
"Mount Callan offered the perfect combination of wind resource, transmission lines and available land for wind farms," said WCRE chairman Padraig Howard.
The project is said to be the largest of its kind in Clare since the development of the Ardnacrusha Hydroelectric Power Station.
Renewable energy could help create thousands of jobs, he said.
