Republican News · Thursday 30 May 2002

Wind turbines the way forward

Fermanagh/South Tyrone MP Michelle Gildernew says she broadly welcomes an application to erect a possible 10 Vasta Wind Turbines in Garrane, Roslea, over the next number of months. Larne-based company B9 has applied for planning permission for the turbines.

"Since 1995, Fermanagh has had ten turbines at the Slieve Russell wind farm, five miles outside Derrylin," said Gildernew. "Just one wind turbine at this new site would produce enough electricity to meet the annual needs of 375 households in the Fermanagh area. Wind energy is one of the cheapest of the renewable technologies; it is competitive with new clean coal fired power stations and cheaper and safer than nuclear power.

"There are 65 wind turbines in the Six Counties. An average wind farm will pay back the energy used in its manufacture within three to five months, and over its lifetime these turbines will produce over 30 times more energy than was used in their manufacture.

"At the Kyoto Climate Conference in 1998, the world's industrialised countries agreed on a legally-binding commitment to cut their annual emissions of climate changing pollution by an average of 7% from 1990 levels within the next 20 years.

"I think that these renewable technologies are the way forward and if mankind can be harness these natural resources to our advantage I am sure that we and the environment will reap the rewards."