Minister rules out any wind turbines in Mournes

Minister rules out any wind turbines in Mournes

20 November 2013

THERE are no plans to lease one of the most scenic parts of the Mournes for a wind farm, a Stormont minister has insisted.

Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy has confirmed that the Silent Valley has not been earmarked as a potential location for a number of huge wind turbines.

His insistence follows a recent meeting of Stormont’s Regional Development committee when officials indicated they would be advocating that Northern Ireland Water turn over some of its vast lands — including the Silent Valley catchment — to wind energy.

But as Mr. Kennedy told Assembly members there would be no wind farm in the Mournes, his counterpart at the Department of Agriculture, Michelle O’Neill, revealed she is currently considering turning over some forest parks to wind turbines.

Questioned last week by former Environment Minister, Sammy Wilson, about plans for a wind farm in the Mournes, Mr. Kennedy said he “wanted to set the record straight,” insisting that both he and NI Water had no current proposals for wind farms.

Mr. Kennedy continued: “I am very happy to place on record that I have no intention of putting forward such proposals for an area of outstanding beauty in the Mournes and I do not believe that NI Water has either.”

Responding to a written question by the Alliance Party’s Anna Lo, Miss O’Neill said her department is considering the potential for some forest land to be developed for wind farms and is currently recruiting a wind farm programme manager to take this work forward.

Mr. Wilson, who is opposed wind farms, said it was a “certainty” that such a plan would blight many of the areas considered to be amongst Northern Ireland’s finest.

He said installing wind turbines on Forest Service land would be much more expensive, “environmentally destructive and intrusive on the landscape than putting in a plant for fracking.”

Mr. Wilson asked: “Do you have pylons crossing the forest or do you have underground cabling with the potential for tearing through acres of trees?

“It is a certainty that it will blight many areas that are seen to be the most scenic in Northern Ireland. The average height of a wind turbine is now 350 feet and it will be hugely disruptive to wildlife in the area, as well as the usual impact of the infrastructure to take the electricity away.

A spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture confirmed the Forest Service is exploring how its lands can be exploited for wind farm development in a way that is consistent with its forestry objectives.

He said the organisation is in a process of recruiting a wind farm programme manager to take this work forward.