Wind farms causing destruction of countryside

A councillor from Strabane Sinn Fein has claimed that the big number of wind energy projects within a six and a half kilometre radius outside Castlederg is causing destruction to the countryside and yet the locals are not enjoying any environmental benefits.

It was during a Strabane District Council meeting that Councillor Kieran McGuire spoke his mind saying there were wind energy projects all over Wales and England that were a blot on the landscape. He said he was merely voicing the concerns of the residents of Aghyaran.

At the present moment there are one hundred and eight wind energy turbines within a six and a half kilometre radius of each other on the outskirts of Castlederg. Wind energy development firms have already tabled applications to construct fifteen more wind farms in the same area.

Councillor Kieran McGuire expressed disdain at the fact that the wind farms were a blot on the landscape surrounding the Aghyaran area which was previously very picturesque but now was being made ugly by the wind energy turbines that were sprouting all the place. Councillor Kieran McGuire further added that he was not against wind farms per se but was objecting to the fact that they were being put so close together when there was enough land to have them space further apart.

Councillor Kieran McGuire went on to say that what hurt even more was the fact that it was the wind farm owners and developers who would reap the fruits and not the locals since even the electricity the wind farms produced was ‘exported’ elsewhere.

www.strabanedc.com