Small-scale wind farmers staged a protest in Dublin yesterday to voice anger at the majority of renewable energy contracts being awarded to ESB- associated companies.
The Irish Wind Farmers Co-operative, representing the majority of small-scale wind farmers, handed in a letter of protest to the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, in protest at the contracts awarded under the AER 6 competition for supplying alternative energy to the ESB.
The chairman of the co-operative, Mr Tommy Cooke, said that businessmen were currently unable to develop small-scale wind farms for the benefit of rural communities.
"Perfectly viable projects just could not compete with the ESB," he said, adding that the Minister should implement a better system to give some assurance that small developers would receive contracts.
The Green Party leader, Mr Trevor Sargent, called on Mr Ahern to review the manner in which renewable energy contracts were awarded. He said that smaller wind farmers were "right to fear they will never be allowed to develop their wind farms in the face of unfair competition".
A spokesman for the Minister said: "The awarding was based purely on price. The lowest bid would have won the contract. These terms and conditions were well known. If we did not base it on cost, consumers would be paying out more."