Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 14 February 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Planning and Development Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Thomas GouldThomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A great deal has come up in this discussion. I have a few questions. In regard to WEI, the witnesses spoke earlier about the lifespan, and it is in the submission. This came up in our meetings over the years. The submission states that it is restricted to between 20 and 25 years. WEI made the point that in the 1990s permission was unconditional. I am not sure I would go that far. However, technologies are improving. As I said earlier, some of the wind farms built 30 years ago are still operating and delivering energy. In addition, if we built a wind farm in 2028 when it looks like they are coming on board, will we be looking at refitting that in 30 years’ time with the newest technologies then available in order to give it a longer life and even better output? Will the witnesses comment on that? Is that how we should look at planning offshore wind farms?

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