A REPORT from the Chief Executive of Galway County Council on the biggest ever proposed off-shore windfarm developments along the West Coast will be presented to councillors at their meeting on Monday, March 24, in County Hall.

The report from Council CE, Liam Conneally, is expected to outline the range, scale and impact of the proposed Sceirde Rocks Offshore Windfarm for the Conamara and western region.

Last Friday, Conamara Area councillors were given a planning briefing on the project by Galway County Council Director of Services [Planning], Liam Hanrahan.

In a presentation to councillors, Mr. Hanrahan, outlined the location, timeline, scale and consultation processes that would be involved in the windfarm project to be located off the south-west coast of Conamara.

His presentation stated that the determining authority on the planning application was An Bord Pleanála but that the Council [Galway] would have a comprehensive list of conditions attached in relation to the project.

These conditions would include such issues as timeframes, liaising with the local community, the community benefit fund which would accompany the project, environmental issues, roads, ports and decommissioning.

One of the recommendations from the Council, according to Mr. Hanrahan’s presentation, relates to the Community Benefit Fund which will have to be agreed and established with the Council in writing – prior to the commencement of the development.

“The fund shall be established to benefit the coastal communities, settlements and islands in Galway County.

“Details of the Fund Administrator shall be provided to the planning authority in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme [ORESS 1] Funds Rulebook for Generators and Fund Administrators,” the presentation stated.

Cathaoirleach of the Conamara Municipal District councillors, Cllr. Tom Welby [Ind], told the Connacht Tribune, that the scale, cost and timelines of the proposed windfarm was ‘new ground’ for everyone in the region.

“Councillors will be making submissions to An Bord Pleanála on a whole range of issues relating to the project which is on a different level to anything we have ever experienced before in the Conamara region.

“As a councillor for 21 years, the scale of this prospect is difficult to grasp and the only advice I can give is for the people of Conamara – and especially those in the Carna and Aran Islands areas – to try and familiarise themselves with what’s proposed and to make submissions should they see fit.

“There will be a substantial community benefit fund for the coastal communities affected which is expected to be in the region of €3 million per year for a 20-year period. There are a lot of considerations to be weighed up,” said Cllr. Welby.

The proposed Sceirde Rocks Windfarm would be located between 5km and 11.5kms off the Carna coast, consisting of 30 turbines with a tip height of 325 metres [c. 1,000 feet] and the capability of generating enough electricity to power 350,000 homes.

The 30 offshore wind turbines, would then feed into an offshore sub-station [OSS], 55 metres in height, via 73kms [45 miles] of cabling. Seabed cables, 63.5kms [nearly 40 miles] in length, would then bring the power to land at Killard [near Doonbeg] in south-west Clare.

At Killard, the offshore cable would feed into the onshore grid connection before being cabled [mostly alongside 19.3kms or 12 miles of the public road corridor] to Ballymacrinan, located south of Kilrush and on the edge of the Shannon Estuary.

The entire project – if given the planning go-ahead – could take an estimated 10-years to complete with a projected cost of close on €1 billion. The windfarm would have an operational life-span of 38-years before it would then be decommissioned.

Corio Generation, a global offshore wind development company headquartered in London, along with Gaeltacht and Inverin based company Fuinneamh Sceirde Teo [FST], are the developers of the project.

At a previous meeting of Conamara councillors, some members expressed concerns about the scale of the project and the impact it could have on shell fishing and the local skyline.

One local councillor – Seamus Walsh [Ind Irl] said that locals in places like Carna were ‘traumatised and in fear’ about the scale of the project.

■ Submissions on the planning application must be submitted – in writing or online – to An Bord Pleanála, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1, by Monday, March 24th next [5.30pm]. The planning decision on the project is due to be delivered by An Bord Pleanála by Monday, July 28th, 2025. Site investigations work on the project began in 2001.

Pictured: A schematic of the proposed Sceirde Rocks Windfarm off the Carna coastline.