Sinn Féin Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has hit out at plans to construct two 182m wind turbines in the Waterford Gaeltacht and has said that its now more urgent than ever that work begins on a new County Development Plan.
McGuinness said:
“It’s clear that there are advanced plans by a German-based investor to situate two colossal turbines in the sensitive area of ecological and cultural importance. The proposed structures will be in excess of 182 meters high and will tower over homes. People locally are feeling let down by an inadequate and out-of-date County Development Plan that offers little in the way of protection to communities.
“I am a supporter of the drive for energy efficiency and for greater investment in renewable energy, however erecting huge steel and concrete structures across populated parts of rural Ireland is not a sustainable or progressive way of generating electricity.
“There needs to be a greater emphasis on micro-generation, where homeowners, businesses and communities are empowered to make their own electricity and sell their surplus back to the grid. This is still not an option in Ireland despite being the norm across Europe.
“I will continue to campaign for a new County Development Plan that contains protections for communities against intrusive, industrial-scale developments.
Cllr. Conor D. McGuinness 