An energy company has been refused a stay on High Court orders restricting the operation of its Co Wexford wind farm.
In a judgment delivered in 2024, Judge Emily Egan held that noise levels from the two-turbine Ballyduff Wind Farm at Kilcomb, near Enniscorthy, amounted to an “unreasonable interference” with the enjoyment of two properties.
The judge’s finding was the first such decision by a court in the Republic or Britain.
The wind farm operator, Meenacloghspar (Wind), is appealing Egan’s judgment. The challenge is due to be heard in November.
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Pending determination of the appeal, Meenacloghspar sought a stay on an injunction granted by the judge restricting its operation of the wind farm, including ordering the shutdown of one of the facility’s two turbines during certain hours.
Since being imposed by the court, Meenacloghspar has been operating the wind farm under the restricted conditions.
Egan refused to stay the injunction. The judge did, however, stay an award of damages to the plaintiff property owners in the lawsuit.
Meenacloghspar went to the Court of Appeal seeking a stay on the injunction. In a judgment published on Tuesday, Court of Appeal president Judge Caroline Costello refused the stay sought by Meenacloghspar.
Costello said Egan engaged in an “exceptionally careful consideration” of the arguments relating to the granting of the stay, “in particular whether to award damages in lieu of an injunction”.
The court must give weight to Egan’s judgment, Costello said. In considering whether to grant a stay on the injunction, a court must consider which party faces a greater risk of injustice.
Costello said she was not persuaded by Meenacloghspar’s arguments that a great risk of injustice arises from refusing to stay the injunction.
The judge said it would be unjust to place a stay on Egan’s “carefully calibrated” injunction pending the determination of the appeal.
In its appeal, Meenacloghspar will allege the High Court erred legally and factually in a range of its findings.
It wants an appellate court to form a different view on liability and to overturn the finding of nuisance. It also claims the court erred in granting a permanent injunction restraining the operation of one of the turbines.
The Meenacloghspar case is one of several significant lawsuits arising from disputes over wind farm developments.
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court in February held that planners’ decision to refuse to grant permission for a Co Laois wind farm should be quashed. The court addressed climate law obligations of planning authorities and public bodies.
The seven-judge ruling made it clear that climate obligations were “real, effective, and if necessary enforceable” and created a “legal standard which must be complied with by a relevant body”.
Separately, it emerged this month that the Government accused the regulator overseeing offshore renewable energy of slowing the delivery of “critical infrastructure” due to “prolonged delays” in decision-making.
In February of this year, Minister for the Environment Darragh O’Brien wrote to the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority criticising its performance in 2025, charging it with “sustained underperformance”.
The State has no operational offshore wind farms.
