Dutch way could expedite wind farm planning process says Cork based company

A Cork-based company specialising in offshore wind has said that government moves to speed up the planning process are “very much welcome”, but that the State should go one step further and adopt the Dutch approach to expedite the development of wind farms.

Green Rebel, a data company headquartered in Cork that offers end-to-end data services for offshore wind developers, has welcomed the Planning and Development Bill expected to be signed off by government on Tuesday.

The bill, which is set to be published in January, will place strict time limits for judicial reviews in a bid to avoid lengthy legal delays to construction projects.

It will also allow for the creation of a Planning and Environmental Court to speed up decisions.

Kieran Ivers, CEO of Green Rebel said the new Planning and Development Bill “recognises the need to accelerate the planning process and is very much welcome as we all strive to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels”.

However, having recently been invited to the Netherlands by their national enterprise agency along with twenty other country representatives, Green Rebel said that Ireland could learn from the Dutch approach.

The Netherlands Enterprise Agency carries out the assessments of designated wind farm zones as part of efforts to attract energy companies to build wind farms in their waters.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management then determines the conditions under which an operator can build and exploit a wind resource, including the ecological regulations and impact on other users.

In order to speed up the process further, I would like to see the Dutch approach adopted in Ireland and for the assessment of wind farm zones to be carried out by government appointed companies,” said Mr Ivers.

“This includes acquiring general information, details of unexploded ordinances and archaeology as well as the geophysical, geotechnical and meteorological and ocean surveys. All of this data will then be owned by the state,” he added.

Mr Ivers said that the Dutch approach of de-risking the application process for developers also allows the state to consider the national wind resource as a whole.