Councillor Conor D. McGuinness has welcomed confirmation from the Council that a workshop on the proposed new wind energy guidelines will take place this month. The Sinn Féin representative had requested the workshop and a cross-party submission a number of weeks ago.
McGuinness said:
“I want to see an all-of-Waterford submission on the proposed new wind energy guidelines. The 2006 guidelines are almost a decade and a half out of date. There has been significant advances in technology and design since they were first published, and we have seen a proliferation of wind farm applications across the southern part of the country.
“There is an obligation on policy and decision makers to champion sustainable energy and to seek our solutions to our dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation. I believe that this includes the use of wind to generate electricity, however we must be measured and disciplined in our development of wind energy, and avoid pitfalls and bad planning that we may live to regret.
“Placing colossal wind turbines in close proximity to homes is not sustainable and in many cases it is unsafe. Communities must be adequately consulted, and as public representatives councillors need to have a say in determining, on a strategic basis, what areas are open for development, and crucially, what areas are off limits.
“I will be advocating for a cross-party, all-of-Waterford approach and a joint submission from the Council that puts people and communities at the centre of development planning in the future. I encourage any one with an interest to share their views with me ahead of the workshop via conor.mcguinness@sinnfein.ie.
Cllr. Conor D. McGuinness 