Overview

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Ørsted is developing a new wind energy proposal to repower the Owenreagh I & II Wind Farms which have been operational since 1997 and 2008 respectively, and to modify and extend the consented Craignagapple Wind Farm which received planning permission in 2018 but has yet to be constructed.

With 14 wind turbines, this wind energy proposal would increase the total installed capacity across Owenreagh I & II Wind Farms and the consented turbines at Craignagapple from 24 MW to somewhere between 63 MW and 67 MW depending on the final candidate turbine selection and the final granted design. Such an increase would make a significant contribution towards helping meet the growing demand for renewable energy generation in Northern Ireland and help the transition to a low carbon future.

Development Location

The operational Owenreagh I & II Wind Farms are located on the western edge of the Sperrin Mountains on Owenreagh Hill, approximately 6 km south east of Artigarvan village, Co. Tyrone, and lie within the Derry City and Strabane District Council (“DCSDC”) area.

Project History

The Owenreagh I & II Wind Farms are currently operational and generate ~26.5GWh/year, enough to power ~8,250* homes. The site has an extensive wind energy history:

Owenreagh Wind Farm I
Ten 0.55 MW turbines, which have been operational since 1997. One of the ten turbines has since been removed, and the site has an installed capacity of 4.95 MW. Removing these older turbines would allow us to replace them with taller, more powerful models to make better use of the excellent wind resource at this location.

Owenreagh Wind Farm II
Six further turbines, of 0.85 MW each, which have been operational since 2009, with a total installed capacity of 5.1 MW. These turbines will also be removed and replaced with taller, more efficient ones as part of this project.

Current Craignagapple Consent
Consent was granted in 2018 for the construction and operation of six turbines adjacent to Owenreagh. The capacity of the site if constructed would be in the region of 14 MW. Similar to the plans for Owenreagh I & II we are proposing using taller, more powerful turbines which will help maximise the electricity generated from this location.

Proposed Turbine Layout for this Development

The proposed development consists of 14 new turbines with tip height of 156.5m. The final turbine locations and infrastructure design was informed by a number of different constraints, particularly avoiding areas of active peat and the deepest areas of peat, consultation with statutory consultees such as Environmental Health (noise), NIEA-NED (ecology including peat) and Landscape Architects Branch (Landscape and Visual Impact), and feedback from the community consultation events.

The map below shows the key infrastructure, including turbines, turbine hardstands, access roads, earthworks, substation and temporary construction compounds. More details on the design of these features is available in the planning application documents.

How to get Involved

Ørsted and the wider project team held the first public consultation events in November 2021 and were very happy to meet local residents and other stakeholders. The feedback we received was used to inform the current wind farm design. Our second public consultation event was held in November at the Fir Trees Hotel in Strabane and in December at Owen Roes’ Club Rooms in Glenmornan. We presented the proposed design and outlined the many ways in which this project could bring positive benefit to the local area, and also explained how you can engage with the planning process. It provided another opportunity for the community and other stakeholders to meet and put questions to our project team.

Now that the planning application has been submitted, you can view the planning documents here or on the Northern Ireland Planning portal. You can also submit a comment on the application via the planning portal.