Ireland’s Wind Energy Development Guidelines (WEDG) were created in 2006 – predating the first iPhone, the financial crash, and, more importantly, huge advances in wind turbine technology. The guidelines cover noise, setback distance, shadow flicker, community obligation, community dividend and grid connections – in other words, they are key to building wind farms. Back in 2017, when Richard Bruton was the minister responsible for the environment, he and Eoghan Murphy, the then housing minister, decided that a review of the guidelines was necessary. They launched the so-called preferred draft approach (PDA) that year and opened it up for consultation in…

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