The Irish Supreme Court has upheld a High Court ruling that the country’s national planning authority failed to consider climate objectives properly when it refused planning permission for Statkraft’s Coolglass project.
The long-awaited decision centres on a roughly 80W 13-turbine proposal in County Laois.
At the heart of the case was whether or not An Coimisiún Pleanála adequately considered authority granted to it under the 2015 Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act to approve the project in favour of climate targets, even if approval contravened local development plans.
Section 15 of the 2015 act “creates a legal obligation binding upon the Commission and enforceable, if necessary, by action, to ensure that any decision it makes to grant or refuse permission is consistent with the climate objectives set out” in the act, the Supreme Court ruled.
“The High Court’s conclusion that the decision of the Commission to refuse permission was invalid and should be quashed, is accordingly upheld on this basis, but for reasons other than those upon which the High Court based its conclusion,” the decision read.
The Court will now send the matter back to the planning commission.