North Meath Wind Farm Ltd has launched a High Court challenge after it was refused permission for a 25-turbine wind farm outside Kells.

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Protesters against a Co Wicklow wind farm were putting themselves in danger in a bid to prevent the laying of cables connected to the development, the High Court heard on Monday.

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SWWAG chairman John O’Driscoll, who founded the group four years ago, appeared to verbalise the feelings of many (such was the round of applause he received) when he said: ‘We don’t want them [the turbines] anywhere and it’s a load of crap about turbine height. We don’t want them – end of story. This is the Garden of Ireland. Have they no cop on?’

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“What we want as a group is not to have any wind farm development and certainly not of this size. Kerry at present has 14% of wind energy but that will shoot up to 25%. For one county, we feel that is more than enough,” he said. “The mood from everyone is that they are not wanted. "

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It is understood that since the company's previous attempt to secure permission, the application has been amended to reduced the number of turbines from 12 to 11 with the removal of one in the Aughrim/Annacurra area in an effort to reduce the visual impact on the local community. Since the planning application was lodged last week, opposition group South Wicklow Wind Action Group (SWWAG) has vowed to take every possible step to prevent such a development from going ahead.

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The couple claim the planning authority failed to properly take into account the increased noise that will be generated by the turbines. They seek an order quashing the decision allowing the wind farm be constructed. 

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The Government has decided not to increase the mandatory set back distance for high-powered wind turbines in its new rules for the wind energy industry. However, a raft of new restrictions for wind turbine construction are expected to limit the impact on communities affected by the rising number of wind farms in rural Ireland.

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And even if Ireland gets close to reaching its 2020 targets, the EU plans to move the goalposts again by increasing the EU-wide renewables target to 27pc by 2030, with even greater fines proposed for breaches. The fines, which are set to be applied at a daily rate of €25,000, will then ratchet up at an ever more rapid pace.

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The Supreme Court wants the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) to determine European law issues before ruling whether An Bord Pleanála properly assessed the impact of a Co Tipperary wind farm on the habitat of the hen harrier, a protected species under EU law.

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The Government has deferred a decision to issue new guidelines for wind farms following a European Court ruling which imposed duties on the State to inform the public fully.

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“ABP’s decision to refuse planning permission for Maighne Wind Farm in Kildare may well be an indication that, for the second time, ABP will hear our concerns and refuse planning for Castlemoor - for the same reasons we have seen previously in Meath and most recently in Kildare.

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A decision to withdraw plans for a £30 million wind farm at Slieveard Mountain on the outskirts of Omagh has been hailed as a huge victory by the campaign group set up to oppose the development.

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Mr Clauson suggested the advert was an attempt to influence government wind energy guidelines, particularly on the issue of safe setback distances from homes. He believed the IWEA was “vehemently opposed” to any attempt to increase the setback distance from wind turbines to homes .

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After building up its portfolio of wind farms in Canada over the past 10 years the Toronto-based company plans to test the market to see if it can get a premium for the assets, Shachin Shah, chief executive officer of Brookfield Renewable, said.

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Minister for Planning and Local Government Simon Coveney has given a second extension to public consultation over Marine Institute plans for renewable energy test site in Galway Bay. A group of Galway West TDs, including junior minister Sean Kyne, sought the extension due to public concerns about th

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Padraig Dolan of The Meath Wind Information Group (MWIG), the community-based organisation which successfully opposed the first application, said that when members of the public started to ask probing questions, a signal seems to have been given to limit the number of people allowed in.

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The Supreme Court will consider a challenge against An Bord Pleanála's decision to grant planning permission for an electricity-generating wind farm in Co Tipperary after ruling that the case raises issues of public importance.

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Mr Justice Bernard Barton ruled the permission must be quashed after finding that the process under which An Bord Pleanála had decided relevant issues concerning compliance with two European Directives - the Habitats Directive and the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive - did not comply with Irish law.

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In its decision, the board said it considered that a wind farm of the scale, extent and height proposed would visually dominate this populated rural area, would seriously injure the amenities of property in the vicinity, would interfere with the character of the landscape and would not be in accordance with the overall development objectives of the Meath County Development Plan.

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A planning application for wind turbines on a hill near Clonroche has led to concern that further wind farm developments will be built in the New Ross district.

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