This article is from page 15 of the 2006-09-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
THE Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) has stated that it hopes to increase Ireland’s output from wind energy by more than 1200 per cent over the next 14 years.
As of February of this year, wind farms in County Clare contributed just 32 megawatts to the 600 units produced nationally. This figure will have to increase drastically if Ireland is to reach the target 8,000 megawatts of wind energy projected by the IWEA before 2020.
Of this 32 megawatts, the vast majority is produced at the Booltiagh farm near Kilmaley and at Maonmore in west Clare. The Minister for Communication, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey is to attend a major IWEA conference on wind energy at the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon this Friday.
“Despite the recent bad press, wind energy is a very clean and renewable source of energy,” said Niamh Kenny of the IWEA. “People are more concerned about the impact of wind farms in their own area, but when you ask them about it on a national context they are very much in favour of it.
“We are currently working at updating our best practices guideline for wind farms. We cannot be responsible for everything on every wind farm in the country, but we can set out best practice guidelines regarding planning and consultation with local people.”
The conference, which will be chaired by broadcaster John Bowman, will also be attended by Trevor Sargent, head of the Green Party aswell-as representatives from all other parties.
One of the central points will be the possibility of improved connections between the electricity grids in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the UK. This would allow for easier importing and exporting of wind energy and lessen wastage at peak times.
“The main purpose of the conference is to pose a number of technical question to the Minister and especially the one of interconnectivity,” continued Ms Kenny.
“At the moment the anti-wind movement is saying that wind energy is very expensive and this is simply not true.
“It is already much cheaper than gas and oil and as prices for these continue to go up it will become even more cost efficient.”
More than 200 delegates are expected to attend the conference which is called Towards an Energy Policy for Ireland.