6 August 1997
A Kerry-based company plan to establish a multi-million pound windfarm in west Mayo capable of supplying electricity to more than six thousand homes daily. Costing an estimated £9 million, details of the facility will be submitted for planning approval to Mayo County Council in the next few weeks.
Located at Croaghrimacarra, Killawalla, Westport, the proposal for fifteen wind turbines and an electrical sub-station is one of twenty sites being developed by Natural Environmental Technology in Ireland. Plans for a further facility at nearby Kinnewry are also at an early stage.
According to Company Director, Mr. Florian Seidler, the windfarm will produce environmentally clean and friendly energy, resulting in a chop in customer electricity prices.
Natural Environmental Technology, which has three German and two Irish Directors, are taking a community friendly approach with the project.
Rent, amounting to £2,000, will be paid to the landowner for each turbine and the land can still be used for its original purpose. Anyone involved with the project will be invited to invest in it and in case of a community project, a "community fund" will be formed to benefit all by profit sharing.
Forty per cent of the investment will be spent locally with high employment during construction. One full time job will be created in maintenance.
The environmental aspect is significant, creating environment friendly energy with minimal visual impact and low noise pollution. Killawalla, according to Florian Seidler, is ideally suited for the Atlantic winds and because it is on a plateau, it "does not stick out like a sore thumb." The aim is for maximum economy, minimum space and noise output.
Consultations have been held with local people regarding the project and says Florian, they will not be rail-roaded in to having a project not welcomed in the locality.
He added the power produced could be sold to the ESB and delivered to local houses and industry at a cheaper rate than currently. To date local reaction to the project has been positive.
The site has been entered in to the Government's energy requirement programme and it everything goes according to plan, construction should start next March and the project will be up and running by the end of 1998.
