Eoghan Murphy, T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government and Richard Bruton, T.D., Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment have published the revised Wind Energy Development Guidelines (WEDG) for public consultation. The Government are launching the consultation as according to the Gov.ie website, they say a focused review of the 2006 Wind Energy Development Guidelines has been undertaken. A “preferred draft approach” to the review was announced in June 2017 by the then Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in conjunction with the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment.
In line with the “preferred draft approach”, the current review is addressing a number of key aspects of the Guidelines including sound or noise, visual amenity setback, shadow flicker, consultation obligations, community dividend and grid connections. To enable focused input into the technical aspects of the revised Guidelines, the Department is interested in your views prior to finalisation according to the public consultation details online.
The Government is asking the public to get involved and make a submission. The consultation is open now but closes at 5pm on 19 February 2020. The Government advise making a submission by these methods below:
Email to the following address: WEDGReview@housing.gov.ie
Or in writing to the below address:
WEDG Review Submissions,
Planning Policy and Legislation Section
Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government,
Custom House,
Dublin 1,
D01 W6X0.
The revised draft of the wind energy development guidelines can be accessed here and for all the details, check out the Gov.ie website.