Wexford County Council Supports Arklow Bank Wind Farm Application

Wexford County Council has given its backing to a wind farm project which is set to be established off the east coast.

The development will be the second offshore wind farm in the Arklow area with up to 56 further wind turbines set to be established beside an existing scheme.

The application site will cross the county boundary between Wicklow and Wexford and will be visible from the marjoity of eastern parts of this county.

It's expected the development will generate 800 megawatts of renewable energy and deliver 16 per cent of the 2024 Climate Action Plan's offshore wind capacity target for 2023.

The issue was first brought before WCC in September 2024 when it mad a submission to An Coimisiun Pleanala looking for more information on how the project would affect the local environment and maritime spatial planning.

At the time, members also expressed concerns in relation to the potenital impact on the local fishing industry.

In a report presented this week, these areas were deemed to have been dealt with in sufficient detail.

The council also noted a Community Benefit fund is incorporated into the development and since 2018, over 500 thousand euro has been invested across Wicklow and North Wexford by the applicant SSE Airtricity.

Councillors voted to pass a motion regarding Wexford's support for this development following the positive engagement with the applicant and planning authorities.

Local councillor Joe Sullivan is welcoming the news and says this is a win for the people located near the site.

"We will now have a greater supply of renewable energy while the community benefit fund will help the groups and organisations in the North Wexford area."

It's hoped this offshore development will lessen the need for wind farms in areas like Kilmichael where locals are opposing the development of a site in their locality.

Councillor Sullivan says a project like this helps us achieve our goals without infringing on people's land:

"Renewable energy is the way we have to look towards generating our electricity going forward.

"The option of offshore is the one we should use because putting wind farms in the middle of rural communities just isn't a runner in my opinion."

That report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.