North Mayo tourism group calls for objections to proposed Erris wind farm
Belmullet tourism group, visitbelmullet.ie has called on the public to make submissions opposing the proposed Muingmore Wind Farm Project
A TOURISM group in north Mayo has called on the local community to make submissions to object to a windfarm proposed for the region.
The Belmullet tourism group, visitbelmullet.ie issued a post on its Facebook page calling for members of the public to make submissions against a proposed windfarm to be located on bogland close to Bangor Erris.
RWE Renewables Ireland proposes to develop a windfarm consisting of 13 wind turbines with a capacity of up to 86MW in an area located approximately 11km west of Bangor Erris and approximately 4km north of Geesala. The study area for the proposed Muingmore Project comprises lands at Muingmore and Doolough measuring approximately 455 hectares.
The tourism group claimed that the wind turbines for the Muingmore Project will reach a height of 180 metres to the blade tip and will affect every person and business in the Erris region.
“Each turbine would reach 180 metres to the blade tip. To put that in terms everyone in Erris knows - the Belmullet water tower is roughly 30 metres tall. These turbines would be six times that height. Thirteen of them, in two clusters, on the skyline above Blacksod Bay.
“They would be visible from Blacksod Point. From Elly Bay beach. From the ferry crossing. From Bangor. From the hills above Belmullet. From the water in the bay itself.
“And they would be there for 35 years,” the post read.
The deadline for submissions to An Coimisiún Pleanála who will decide on whether the wind farm will get planning permission is July 6, 2026 and the group have called on the public to send in submissions in large numbers.
“Volume matters. The board takes note of the scale of community concern. Even brief, genuine personal submissions carry weight alongside the formal technical objection.
“RWE Renewables has formally applied to build 13 industrial wind turbines — up to 180 metres tall — on the boglands above Blacksod Bay, a protected European marine habitat. The planning clock is running. Every submission counts.”
RWE stated that they are committed to community engagement in all of its projects and is entering into a 'pre-planning consultation period with stakeholders, especially local residents, to answer questions, allay any concerns and gather feedback on the proposed project'.
On its website, RWE stated that the Muingmore project is located in an area of appropriate wind speeds with suitable available land on which to develop a wind farm.
“It occupies a sufficient area of land to accommodate a wind farm while keeping an appropriate distance from dwellings in line with government guidelines, that of four times tip height which for a 200m tip height turbine, is 800m from the nearest dwelling.”
They also stated that it will bring 'tangible local benefits' such as employment opportunities during the construction and operation phases and 'possible payments' under the Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) to a Community Benefit Fund, or a specific Community Benefit Fund from RWE.