EDF Renewables Ireland has announced a public exhibition of its proposed Seskin Wind Farm in Ireland.
The event will be held at the Lord Bagenal Inn in Ballyknockan, County Carlow, on Monday 15 August from 3pm to 8pm.
The project, north-west of the village of Old Leighlin, will comprise seven turbines with tip heights of up to 180m. Collectively the machines will have a generating capacity of around 50MW, enough to power the equivalent of approximately 36,000 homes.
If the development receives planning permission and is constructed, a Community Benefit Fund will be established to support local initiatives and activities.
Following consultation with the local community, the project team intends to submit a planning application and the Environmental Impact Assessment Report in support of the project to Carlow County Council in fourth quarter 2023.
Subject to planning permission, the site is expected to be operational in 2027. The wind farm will also include access tracks, a substation, battery energy storage, a temporary construction compound, a permanent meteorological mast, underground cabling and a grid connection which links the wind farm to the national electricity grid.
“The public exhibition gives us an opportunity to provide detailed information to the local community on the project and its progress to date, and equally importantly to get feedback from the local community in response to our proposals,” said EDF Renewables Ireland head of development Jenny Howard.
“Our team has carried out detailed environmental, geotechnical and habitat studies, and we’re looking forward to sharing this information with local residents.
“Seskin Wind Farm will make an important contribution to increasing the amount of electricity generated in Ireland from renewable sources, and the Community Benefit Fund will help support local initiatives and activities in and around the Leighlinbridge area.”
The exhibition will feature information about the project and the environmental surveys completed to date, photomontages illustrating the visual impact of the turbines from local viewpoints, details of the project timeline and information on other aspects of wind energy.
There is no need to register in advance and all are welcome to attend. A virtual exhibition will also be available to view at www.edf-re.ie/our-sites/seskin