Mr. Gabriel D'Arcy:

I will ask Mr. John Reilly of Powergen to reply to Deputy Cowen's points. Lest there be any view to the contrary, An Bord Pleanála has shown its process to be reasonably robust regarding planning applications pertaining to wind farms. Very recently, some of the largest proposed developments in the midlands, of which Deputy Cowen would be aware, have been refused planning permission for exactly the reasons about which he expressed concerns, such as setback distances and impacts. Deputy Cowen asked whether the guidelines needed to be updated. First, they are being updated through the strategic environmental assessment, SEA, process. I take the Deputy's point that perhaps this should have happened some time back rather than waiting for a project of this scale to trip the process of review. However, it makes sense that processes and guidelines need to be updated, if for no other reason than the fact that technology is moving on in leaps and bounds.

Somebody made a comment about the longevity of wind farms. Bord na Móna was the first company to build, own and operate a commercial wind farm. It had a total capacity of 7.5 MW with hub heights of 30 m and outputs of 330 kW. That wind farm was built in the early 1990s in the north west of Ireland and is still operating today. Technology has moved on. We are in the process of building a wind farm where the hub height is 100 m and the rated output is 3 MW. Guidelines need to move alongside technology. Regarding social acceptance and community benefits, Bord na Móna is very much a community-based organisation, particularly in the midlands. It draws most of its support and employees from the midlands. Some communities in the midlands did not exist before Bord na Móna. County development plans need to be aligned with regional and national development plans.