RENEWABLE ENERGY:THE MOUNT Callan wind farm development offered an "unparalleled" return to landowners, according to Padraig Howard of West Clare Renewable Energy Ltd.
He is also a director of the Spirit of Ireland initiative, which is a national project for energy independence.
He said the company aimed to provide a group of farmers with a share of a €15.5 million return over the next 20 years.
Responding to environmental concerns, Mr Howard said that the wind farm was not on the summit of Mount Callan, which was a natural heritage area and was not within any designated sensitive habitats.
The upland is close to one of the 400 kV lines from Moneypoint, Co Clare, and a grid connection for the wind farm is being sought.
Mr Howard explained that the closest turbines would be located would be 460m for participating houses and 550m for non-participating houses, which is beyond the 400m recommended buffer zone.
The storage facility was still at a “pre-feasibility stage”, and the group was looking at a number of sites in both east and west Clare, he said.
“Co Clare has a world-class wind resource, an existing grid infrastructure and a local authority which has drawn up a strategy to ensure that Clare becomes the ‘cleantech’ capital of Ireland,” he said.