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Project Being Considered

Project at a glance

8 turbine project
Maximum turbine heights of 175m
Distance to the nearest turbine – over 700m
Over 48MW of renewable energy to the Irish electricity grid
Zero shadow flicker policy
Underground cable to connect the proposed project from its on-site substation to an off-site substation which is connected to the grid
Total Community Benefit Fund of circa €3.5 million over 15 years, depending on the final design
Recreational, community and biodiversity improvements associated with the development
Annual rates payments to Cork County Council of over €15.4 million over the lifetime of the project
Associated works will include access tracks, turbine foundations and hardstanding areas, drainage works, a temporary site compound, underground electrical and communications cables between turbines and an underground cable to connect the proposed project to a substation

Project Proposal

We believe this proposal has the capacity to deliver climate action while bringing very real benefits to the local area and its people.

This proposal is to develop an 8-turbine wind farm in the Shehy Mountains, West Cork. At the initial stages of consideration, designers drafted a project outline that would maximise the wind energy potential of the site. Placing local appropriateness as a fundamental consideration, further optimisation of this design was carried out. This has resulted in some changes to the project and its consenting process. There will now be three planning applications submitted:

The wind farm application will be submitted to Cork County Council in late Q4 2024
The application for the Turbine Delivery Route will be submitted to Cork County Council in late Q2/Q3 2025
The substation and grid connection will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála in late Q2/Q3 2025 as the project qualifies as a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID)

It is important to Statkraft that our projects are considered in terms of the climate challenges being addressed. It is also vital that they are appropriate for the area, suitably located and delivered as part of a just transition. In addition, these projects bring real benefits to local people and support the economic, social, and environmental sustainability of local areas.

Projects like Gortloughra Wind Farm enable communities to utilise their own natural resources and provide clean affordable energy solutions that reduce carbon emissions and our dependence on expensive fossil fuels.