Irish developer ESB is to decommission the 70-turbine Derrybrien wind farm in Ireland after failing to secure a new permit for the controversial project.
The company paused operation of the 59.5MW project last month when An Bord Pleanala refused to grant substitute consent for the site in Galway.
“Following careful consideration ESB has now decided to decommission the wind farm,” said the developer today.
The 59.5MW Derrybrien comprises 70 Vestas V52 turbines and has been operational since 2006.
ABP turned down a fresh consent bid filed in 2020 following years of legal wrangles over the project.
The European Court of Justice deemed the original approval, first granted more than 20 years ago, unlawful in 2019.
Dublin has racked up tens of millions of Euro in EU fines in connection with the project since the ECJ ruling.
Construction of the wind farm, which included the removal of large areas of forest and the extraction of peat on the Cashlaundrumlahan mountain, caused an “environmentally devastating landslide” in 2003, according to the court in 2008.
An environmental report was ruled inadequate because Ireland had not fulfilled obligations for such studies under EU directives, the ECJ found.
The ruling prompted local authority Galway County Council to order ESB to get new consent.
ESB made the fresh permit bid in 2020. Permission was also being sought to cover emergency stabilisation and containment works carried out following the 2003 landslide that occurred during construction.
In its filing, the developer said the permit application meets the requirement to be considered under exceptional circumstances as the original proponent Gort Windfarms “acted in good faith” and has had “good grounds for believing that the development was not unauthorised”.
ESB filed a slew of new environmental studies along with its application, including research showing the landslide has been “substantially remediated”.
“The peat slide was an exceptional event in itself, and the investigation of it and the measures to address it have dramatically increased the understanding regarding construction of wind farms on peat bogs,” said the paperwork.
The developer wanted to operate the wind farm until around 2040.
However, An Bord Pleanala ruled it out, finding the project’s impacts on the environment were “clear, profound and unacceptable”.
The authority added mitigation measures put in place following a major landslide during construction in 2003 were not enough to offset the effects of the peat movement.
“ESB will now prepare for the decommissioning of the 70 wind turbines in accordance with planning laws and regulations,” added the company.