A large wind farm proposed in a Co Antrim area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), should not go ahead, the Department for Infrastructure has said.
Global wind energy group RES has proposed erecting 14 wind turbines on Unshinagh Mountain, around 5km from the coastal villages of Carnlough and Glenarm.
The Department for Infrastructure (DfI) intervened on Wednesday, issuing a notice of opinion to refuse planning permission for the Unshinagh wind farm.
RES, which has been involved in 22 wind energy projects in Northern Ireland to date, launched its bid for the Co Antrim wind farm in 2021.
It proposed 14 turbines, measuring up to 180 metres, at the hillside location, alongside infrastructure associated with a wind farm, from transformers and underground cabling, to control building and battery energy storage containers,
The proposal also involved tree felling and developing new access tracks to the site.
Six objections were received in respect of the application, with one letter of support received.
In a statement, DfI described the planning application as “regionally significant”, adding that the site is located within the Antrim Coast and Glens AONB.
“In reaching the decision, the permanent secretary of the Department has given full and careful consideration to all material planning considerations.
“Due cognisance was given to the contribution that renewable energy can make to both the economy and tackling climate change; however in this case the significant harm that would be caused to the landscape of the Antrim Coast and Glens area of outstanding natural beauty and the ecological impacts on protected species within the Antrim Hills special protection area, along with the archaeological, cultural and tourism assets in the locality outweighed the economic and environmental benefits.”
The department said its most senior civil servant had the power to issue the notice under the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022.
DfI said its notice of opinion to refuse planning permission had been issued to RES and Mid and East Antrim Council, who may seek a hearing before the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC), within 42 days of the date of the notice.
RES said the proposed wind farm would be capable of generating 58.8MW of power, equivalent to the electricity usage of around 70,000 homes each year.
Jennifer McCorry, senior development project manager at RES said the company is “extremely disappointed” by the decision will carefully review the reasons for refusal.
In a statement, she said: “This week we learnt that 2023 was the world’s hottest year on record, a sobering reminder of the real and present dangers posed by climate change.
“In response, Northern Ireland has rightly set legally binding targets to deliver 80% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030.
“To achieve these targets we urgently need more domestic renewables generation, from projects like Unshinagh, to help deliver clean, low cost electricity for Northern Ireland consumers. In 2022 alone, NI consumers avoided paying £500 million to import gas because of electricity provided by wind.
“We had estimated that Unshinagh would involve a capital spend of £61 million and of this total, £24.7m would be realised within the Northern Ireland economy.
“In terms of jobs we had also projected that the 12-month construction would create up to £5m of wages.”
