Killorglin Wind Turbine.

SeaFields

Did anyone see the new wind turbine at the Astellas plant outside Killorglin?!

How did they manage to get planning permission for that?
It cant be more than a few hundred metres from the town centre!

I know the plant provides lots of jobs but I cannot see how on earth they were allowed to build it.

Opinions? What do the Killorglin residents here think?

stevielenihan

SeaFields wrote: »

Did anyone see the new wind turbine at the Astellas plant outside Killorglin?!

How did they manage to get planning permission for that?
It cant be more than a few hundred metres from the town centre!

I know the plant provides lots of jobs but I cannot see how on earth they were allowed to build it.

Opinions? What do the Killorglin residents here think?

some locals agree with it. It went ahead cause they were hardly any objections. its greaat it wen ahead cause it proudce a lot of energy

SeaFields

stevielenihan wrote: »

some locals agree with it. It went ahead cause they were hardly any objections. its greaat it wen ahead cause it proudce a lot of energy

Its not as if the people of Killorglin will be paying less on their ESB bills because of it. And it being so close to sea level and somewhat inland i cant see it producing a lot of electricity to be honest.

Its a very strange situation.

ejmaztec

SeaFields wrote: »

Its not as if the people of Killorglin will be paying less on their ESB bills because of it. And it being so close to sea level and somewhat inland i cant see it producing a lot of electricity to be honest.

Its a very strange situation.

If you open up this link you can download a 176mb file covering the whole planning process, including details of any objections etc etc

http://atomik.kerrycoco.ie/ePlan/InternetEnquiry/rpt_ViewApplicDetails.asp?validFileNum=1&app_num_file=10128

carlosvan

you have to feel that if the people of killorglin knew it was gona be that big there would have been a huge objection, but in fairness i didnt hear any person giving out about it

carchaeologist

SeaFields wrote: »

Its not as if the people of Killorglin will be paying less on their ESB bills because of it. And it being so close to sea level and somewhat inland i cant see it producing a lot of electricity to be honest.

Its a very strange situation.

I agree, I don't think it will produce much. The wind has to be just right to produce electricity, too fast or two slow is no good. They say those type of generator are only effective 25% of the time.
and it's only a single one?

SeaFields

carchaeologist wrote: »

I agree, I don't think it will produce much. The wind has to be just right to produce electricity, too fast or two slow is no good. They say those type of generator are only effective 25% of the time.
and it's only a single one?

Yeah, too slow and no power and too fast it has to shut it self down for safety i believe.

Its just the one but I imagine someone must have had the numbers crunched and decided it was feasible. Or maybe they forgot to carry the 1 :eek:

I've passed it a lot recently and it still gives me turn my head. Strange thing in a strange location

iambrazil

I saw this from the back garden of my uncle's house at Christmas. He lives fairly close to it. His attitude is along the lines of "It's the future. They'll be everywhere soon." He said people were told it'll pay for itself within 3 years. Maybe most people are fine with it if it shows the company investing in their operaton in that area?

carlosvan

iambrazil wrote: »

I saw this from the back garden of my uncle's house at Christmas. He lives fairly close to it. His attitude is along the lines of "It's the future. They'll be everywhere soon." He said people were told it'll pay for itself within 3 years. Maybe most people are fine with it if it shows the company investing in their operaton in that area?

yeh im of the same opinion , in a time when jobs are geting very thin on the ground god bless these big firms investing in the future , gives us all a bit of optimism going forward

julanont

It hasn't spun round in the last few days, seems like its broken already:D

francomcdaddy

I live in Killorglin , just saw this thread and here is the main answer

Killorglin is part of an exclusion zone for windfarms in the County Development Plan but commercial and industrial use zoning means that single turbines can be applied for.

Only a handfull of people knew about this locally, no one reads the planning applications on the kerry county council website or there was 1 article in 2010 about they planning one. They did enough to say they put the word out but I can tell you 90% of people in town were shocked when it went up. On Sunday at 8pm I was out walking then I was up they next morning at 7.30 am and it was full erected.

Locals hated that ther fantasic view were spoilt but this giant fan!

carlosvan

carlosvan wrote: »

yeh im of the same opinion , in a time when jobs are geting very thin on the ground god bless these big firms investing in the future , gives us all a bit of optimism going forward

Don't know this particular one, but would imagine that in general any benefit wind turbines bring in terms of jobs is minimal, whereas they can't be great for one of the most important sectors in South Kerry, tourism. The area around Coolea is ruined by them. There should be very hard questions asked of the planning officer who gave the thumbs up to a turbine on the Ring of Kerry.

JonathonS

My view is that this turbine was very badly sited.
You can still see the town.

stevielenihan

There is always objections when it comes to building windturbines. Its great that this one is now up and running. I wish people would stop objecting for once

stevielenihan

stevielenihan wrote: »

There is always objections when it comes to building windturbines. Its great that this one is now up and running. I wish people would stop objecting for once

Would you locate them in other areas along the Ring of Kerry?

Could you quantify the benefit to the area, or indeed to the country, brought by (i) tourism and (ii) wind turbines, so we can compare and contrast. Do you think tourists will be as impressed by you? Maybe it'll feature in guide books, come to Killorglin, stare at the monument to the Planning Department of Kerry Co Co.

I know people who say that, suitably located, they may be a necessary evil. I must say I haven't really come across your "wind turbines are great" argument too often.

stevielenihan

Deleted User wrote: »

Would you locate them in other areas along the Ring of Kerry?

Could you quantify the benefit to the area, or indeed to the country, brought by (i) tourism and (ii) wind turbines, so we can compare and contrast. Do you think tourists will be as impressed by you? Maybe it'll feature in guide books, come to Killorglin, stare at the monument to the Planning Department of Kerry Co Co.

I know people who say that, suitably located, they may be a necessary evil. I must say I haven't really come across your "wind turbines are great" argument too often.

Yes I would locate them any place high. Windturbines produce clean enery for homes and buisness and are a big advantage in been build. Yes many more windfarms should be build and there is many more under construction at the moment.

carchaeologist

Haven't Munster joinery a similar set up with large wind turbines?

stevielenihan

carchaeologist wrote: »

Haven't Munster joinery a similar set up with large wind turbines?

Yes they have done so. They have erected 2 Enercon E82 turbines. They are a reaally great to have them installed and are production lots of energy each day.

Buc_deas

I work in the wind energy industry, and I strongly believe in them.

A properly planned wind farm is a good thing, when it is not too intrusive into peoples day to day lives. People need to drop their wilderness fantasies of the irish countryside and accept that this type of energy development (imperfect though it is) is necessary and here to stay.

But, it annoys me when I see some of the badly located, poorly planned, one off machines that are designed to generate a green image more than green energy. The turbine in Killorglin is a mistake. That type has a low power output and a high visual impact.

Wind turbines are best used in actual wind farms, and should be coupled with pumped hydro storage solutions to at least partly mitigate the continuity of supply issue.

Buc_deas

Btw, the same manufacturer as the Killorglin turbine seems to not to mind the environmental impact of their developments.
They have turbines just off the ring of Kerry at Knockaneden near Cahirciveen which are inappropriately located for visual and tourism reasons. They would have good energy production though.
Also that same manufacturer provides no toilet facilities on any of their sites for the poor technicians who have to service them.
They are forced to urinate and defecate in the local bog or forestry- this shows contempt for their own employees and the local environment.
They have legal issues with people near banteer,Co.Cork over the noise from their transformers. The irish employees, in fairness to them wanted to turn them off to test the noise source, but were prevented from doing so by the contemptuous management.

These criticisms do not apply to decent wind energy manufacturers and employers like Siemens, Vestas or SSE.