£40m wind farm plan for Larne

Northern Wind Power wants to erect up to 10 of the largest turbines in Northern Ireland, with a rotor-tip height of 410 feet (125 metres), producing a total output of 25 megawatts.

The proposed wind farm, on private land at Starbog Road, Kilwaughter, has been on the drawing board since 2005 and Planning Service has announced its intention to allow the Northern Ireland subsidiary of ESB Wind Development UK Ltd to take the first physical step in the project.

On Monday night, Larne Borough Council’s public services committee was consulted on the application, and planning approval was granted for a 262ft (80m) meteorological mast on the site. The steel tower, held in position by guy wires, would be fitted with anemometers and a wind vane to record wind speed and direction.

“Ideally, we will need to have up to two years of data from the mast before we would proceed with an investment which is probably in the region of £40 million at the site,” explained Northern Ireland development manager Gary Connolly.

“Our initial indications are that, because of the elevation and exposed nature of the site, it should be very productive,” he added.

Read the full story in this week’s Larne Times