Wind power is probably the cleanest and most readily available energy source in the State. For decades successive governments talked about harnessing it to reduce our dependence on expensive imported oil and coal. Little happened until, within the past few years, improved technology, EU grants and intensive private investment began to transform the situation. The first wind farm - a modest operation of 21 turbines - has existed at Bellacorick in Co Mayo since 1992 when it was constructed by Bord na Mona. New facilities are now being added every year.
The latest joint proposal from Bord na Mona and the ESB envisages creating one of the largest wind farms in the world at the Bellacorick site. It involves the construction of a 210-turbine farm that would generate 320 megawatts and be capable of supplying power to 200,000 homes. The project will cover 5,000 hectares. In the context of the enormous expanse of blanket bog in the region, that has been subjected to peat harvesting in the recent past, the site is quite confined.
The development, which is due to come on stream in 2004, is designed to take up the slack caused by the closure of the existing peat-burning plant. There is also a prospect that natural gas from the Corrib Field, off the coast of Mayo, may be used to generate electricity at Bellacorick because of the existence of a transmission system. Such expansion would require an up-grading of the electricity supply network for the region and would represent a key attraction to foreign investors. Both the IDA and the Western Development Commission have emphasised the need for high-quality electricity supplies if small, modern industries are to locate in the deprived North-West.
The construction of wind farms naturally generates concerns over their impact on the landscape and on local communities. Objections to the proposal have caused Mayo County Council to postpone a decision on the planning application until the New Year. Realism is required. The Government has undertaken to reduce carbon emissions under the Kyoto protocol; as a consequence, we must make greater use of clean energy. Wind power may be the greatest natural resource available to the West of Ireland. It would be short-sighted in the extreme not to use it.