One of Ireland's most famous scenic drives will become an eyesore if plans for a wind-farm with 60-metre turbines go ahead, opponents of the project claim.
Two appeals have been lodged with An Bord Pleanala since Waterford County Council granted permission for the 12-tower development at Knockalougha in the Knockmealdown Mountains, close to a scenic route known as the Vee.
The developer, Mr Edward Sheehan, says the wind masts will not be visible from any part of the Vee drive, and most local people are supportive of the project.
Among those concerned is Tipperary South County Council, which asked that four of the turbines be moved from their planned location so that they will not be visible from Tipperary. The request was rejected as "unreasonable" by Waterford County Council.
Environmental groups and mountain-users have expressed outrage at the decision to approve the project, which they claim will damage the flora and fauna of the area, cut off access to hill-walkers during construction and dominate the skyline.
Mr Sheehan, who is himself a hill-walker, disputes the claims and says the 15.6 megawatts of electricity produced by the farm will be of significant benefit to the south-east. This view is supported by Waterford County Council, which says the impact of the development on the visual environment has to be balanced against the benefits of renewable energy.
The council's decision to approve the project has perplexed opponents, given that An Bord Pleanala rejected applications for two wind-monitoring masts in the same district last year on the basis that they would damage the visual amenities of the area.
Local residents and members of the Cistercian order at Mount Melleray had opposed those masts.
In its appeal to An Bord Pleanala against the current project, the Knockmealdown Protection Committee, a citizens' group established in 1996, said the council should have regarded the board's decision in the two previous cases as a "benchmark" in relation to development in the area.
"The proposed wind-farm development at Knockalougha is, if anything, in an even more visually sensitive area [than the previous two], close to the intersection of several scenic routes," the group's chairman, Mr Willie O'Donoghue wrote.
In an internal memo to the county secretary responding to the group's criticisms, Mr Denis McCarthy, the council's senior planning engineer, said the current project was on a site 8 to 10km east of the two turned down by the board, and was treated on its own merits.
Seven of the 12 turbines to be constructed, if the board upholds the council's decision, will be 60 metres high, with the other five standing at 45 metres.
It was in relation to four of the lower towers which, because of their location, Tipperary South County Council expressed particular anxiety.
In a letter to its Waterford counterpart, the Tipperary council said it was concerned about the impact of the proposed turbines on the visual amenity of the mountains and also the prospect of aboveground power lines linking the wind farm to the national grid at Ardfinnan.
It asked for two conditions to be imposed on the developer: that planning permission be obtained for the power line to Ardfinnan before work began on the site; and that four of the turbines "be relocated so that they are not visible from the Tipperary SR (South Riding) county area".
In his memo to the county secretary, Mr McCarthy said: "The first of these recommended conditions is included as a condition, and it is considered that the second recommended condition was unreasonable and consequently should not be included."
An appeal to An Bord Pleanala has also been lodged by the Peaks Mountaineering Club of Clonmel, which says the wind farm would be visible from the southern slopes of Araglen valley and from the R669 road from Cappoquin. It claims there would also be "limited visibility" from Clogheen.
The Mountaineering Council of Ireland, which objected to the application, says the 60metre masts would dominate the view westward from the Vee gap road and be visible from parts of west Waterford, Cork and Tipperary.
Mr Sheehan claims, however, that opponents of the project are "clutching at straws" in claiming the turbines will be visible from the Vee. There were points on the route where, if somebody knew exactly where to look, they might see the tip of a rotating blade, he said.
But an environmental impact statement (EIS) had shown that there was, in effect, "zero visibility" on the route.
Mr McCarthy, in his memo, says the objectors appear not to have taken the conclusions of the EIS on board. "The characteristics of this site due to its remoteness from any populated areas make it suitable for the proposed development without impinging to a great degree on the sensitivity of the site."