UPDATE: 10 January 2024

The Department for Infrastructure has issued a notice of opinion to refuse planning permission for the proposed 14-turbine Unshinagh Wind Farm, located approximately 4km west of Carnlough.

Jennifer McCorry, Senior Development Project Manager at RES, commented: “

“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, £24.7 million 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 £5 million of wages.

“We’re extremely disappointed by the decision and will take the opportunity to carefully review the reasons for refusal.”

Northern Ireland’s Climate Bill sets a target of 80% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030, and it is expected that 65% of this will need to come from onshore wind. If consented, Unshinagh Wind Farm would be capable of generating 58.8MW of clean, low cost electricity, equivalent to the electricity usage of around 70,000 homes each year. Onshore wind projects like Unshinagh contribute to the Climate Bill target, enable more energy to be generated domestically improving security of supply, and are the cheapest form of new electricity generation, alongside large-scale solar.  This makes developments like Unshinagh not just good for the environment but also for the consumer.