Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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Meeting our national targets for wind energy will require further integrating renewable technologies in proximity to communities in an appropriate manner in full consultation with those communities.

Developers will be required to apply internationally recognised best-practice techniques when it comes to protecting human health within the home. This includes adopting and achieving appropriate standards for control of noise, shadow flicker, and utilising modern technology to minimise and control impacts where necessary.

All renewable electricity developments are subject to careful independent scrutiny at the planning application stage, whereby protection of human health and residential amenities is a central consideration.

Furthermore, all renewable installations, including wind farms, require the submission of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as part of their planning application. This assessment helps to identify and evaluate any significant impact that the facility may have on the environment. The relevant planning authority will take this into consideration when reaching a decision on an application.

The Wind Energy Development Guidelines (WEDGs) are also currently being updated and are due to be published in Q4 2023 by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.The guidelines are intended to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country in the identification of suitable locations for wind energy development and the treatment of planning applications for wind energy developments.

They will focus on addressing a number of key aspects including noise, visual amenity setback, shadow flicker, community consultation obligations, community dividend and grid connections.

In the above context, it is also important to stress the urgent need to accelerate the delivery of onshore wind and solar energy to meet the carbon budget programme under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act which requires a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. For electricity, one of the key measures to achieve this is the delivery of 9 GW of onshore wind by 2030 which requires more than a doubling of current onshore wind capacity.