Plans to locate a giant wind farm on the Arklow sandbank, just 6km off the Co Wicklow coast, poses a major threat to beaches across Wicklow and Wexford according to local residents and business owners.
The South East Coast Protection Alliance (SECPA) say SSE Renewables’ proposals to erect up to 56 super-sized wind turbines will irreparably damage the 27km long sandbank, which acts as a protective barrier to its parallel coastline.
“By revising the location, we can all benefit from Ireland’s commitment to renewable energy and preserve the outstanding natural beauty of our beaches and sand dunes’
SECPA say the erosion of specific areas of coastline (particularly the southern end of Brittas Bay beach) suggests that the existing 7 turbines off the coast of Arklow, less than 125m tall and sited 13km from shore, have already had a targeted detrimental effect.
“At 287 metres tall, the proposed turbines will be the biggest the world has even seen, each comparable to the Eiffel Tower - and sited as close as 6km to shore.”
“The SSE proposals would see 2.6 million tonnes of solid matter being poured onto the sandbank, effectively levelling an area of 986 acres. The Arklow sandbank is listed under Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive as it is intrinsically linked to the wellbeing and survival of hundreds of species of wildlife.”
SECPA say the catastrophe can be avoided by simply moving the proposed development (exactly as it’s designed) off the sandbank and directly further out to sea.
“We are asking the public to support our call by signing our petition ahead of the closing date of 7th August and the public consultation process on SSE’s submission to An Bord Pleanala.”
“We are calling for the current SSE submission to be rejected and for any future permission to be considered only on condition that any such project is sited ‘within the internationally-accepted demarcation line for offshore wind turbines of all sizes” which is at least 22km offshore.
The petition can be signed at secpa.ie.
“By revising the location, we can all benefit from Ireland’s commitment to renewable energy and preserve the outstanding natural beauty of our beaches and sand dunes’
SECPA say the erosion of specific areas of coastline (particularly the southern end of Brittas Bay beach) suggests that the existing 7 turbines off the coast of Arklow, less than 125m tall and sited 13km from shore, have already had a targeted detrimental effect.
“At 287 metres tall, the proposed turbines will be the biggest the world has even seen, each comparable to the Eiffel Tower - and sited as close as 6km to shore.”
“The SSE proposals would see 2.6 million tonnes of solid matter being poured onto the sandbank, effectively levelling an area of 986 acres. The Arklow sandbank is listed under Annex 1 of the EU Habitats Directive as it is intrinsically linked to the wellbeing and survival of hundreds of species of wildlife.”
SECPA say the catastrophe can be avoided by simply moving the proposed development (exactly as it’s designed) off the sandbank and directly further out to sea.
“We are asking the public to support our call by signing our petition ahead of the closing date of 7th August and the public consultation process on SSE’s submission to An Bord Pleanala.”
“We are calling for the current SSE submission to be rejected and for any future permission to be considered only on condition that any such project is sited ‘within the internationally-accepted demarcation line for offshore wind turbines of all sizes” which is at least 22km offshore.
The petition can be signed at secpa.ie.
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