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Ireland falls behind climate targets due to lack of wind farm approvals


Ireland is facing a significant setback in meeting its Climate Action Plan targets due to delays in wind energy project approvals. In 2024, An Bord Pleanála (ABP), the national planning authority, granted planning permission for 10 new wind farms with a combined capacity of 717 MW. This represents just 42% of the capacity needed to stay on track for the government’s 2030 goal of 9,000 MW of onshore wind energy.

Insufficient approvals

According to Wind Energy Ireland’s first annual planning report, ABP would have needed to approve 1,720 MW of wind projects in 2024 to meet the 2030 target. In addition to the approved projects, the board rejected applications for 12 wind farms with a combined capacity of 677 MW, while 30 projects totaling 1,598 MW remained undecided at the end of the year.

Noel Cunniffe, CEO of Wind Energy Ireland, expressed concern over the slow pace of project approvals, warning that it jeopardizes access to clean, affordable, and secure energy. “Before we can build new wind farms, we need to get them through the planning system, and we are simply not seeing enough projects approved to reach our 2030 targets,” he stated.

 


Source: Wind Energy Ireland

 

Increased decisions, but not enough

Despite these challenges, the industry welcomed a 16% increase in planning decisions compared to 2023. The fourth quarter of 2024 stood out as particularly productive, with five projects approved—half of all approvals for the year. This was a significant improvement from the third quarter, which saw only one project granted permission.

“The pace of approvals rose sharply at the end of 2024. This is an encouraging step forward, but we need this to become the new normal and, ideally, to accelerate further in the months ahead,” Cunniffe added.

Strengthening the planning system

Wind Energy Ireland emphasized the need to enhance the resources and capabilities of planning authorities to manage the growing number of renewable energy project applications. Cunniffe highlighted the importance of aligning local planning policies with national climate action goals and called on the incoming government to support planning authorities with adequate resources.

“To meet the needs of our growing economy, we need to fast-track the delivery of new onshore and offshore wind farms and upgrade the electricity grid,” he said. “The planning system must be equipped to assess critical renewable energy projects quickly and thoroughly.”

While progress was made in 2024, Ireland remains behind schedule in its journey towards a zero-carbon electricity system. Accelerating the approval process for wind farms is essential to achieving the Climate Action Plan’s targets and ensuring a sustainable energy future.

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