Attitudes towards Wind Farms in Ireland

SEAI have completed a series of surveys to identify what the Irish public's attitude towards wind farms is and how future energy policy as well as planning and design guidance might be directed.

The surveys reveal that Irish people are generally positively disposed to the introduction of wind farms but that some concerns do exist which decision makers and developers alike must take into account when considering future projects.

Surveys and results

Three interrelated surveys were carried out as part of the study dealing with:

• the Irish population as a whole;
• communities living close to an existing wind farm;
• with communities from areas where a wind farm has recently received planning approval.

Three overlapping questionnaires (.pdf, 350kb) were developed by an independent cross-sectoral steering committee for use in the face to face interviews across statistically representative samples. The survey provides realistic insights for planners, policy makers and developers to assist in the planning and development of future wind energy projects.

Results of the survey are presented in Attitudes Towards the Development of Wind Farms in Ireland 2003 (.pdf, 1964kb).

In 2008 Bord Fáilte carried out a survey of visitor attitudes to wind energy and they found that the vast majority of visitors saw it as a positive development for Ireland. The majority of tourists surveyed did not feel a wind farm was a negative addition to the landscape.

Energy from Fresh Air Wind Energy Conference, 2003

"Attitudes towards the Development of Wind Farms in Ireland" was launched at the Energy from Fresh Air Wind Energy Conference, 2003 in Sligo. James McCarthy-Morrogh from Lansdowne Market Research presented Attitudes towards Wind Energy and Wind Farms in Ireland (.pdf, 214kb)to demonstrate how the public perceived current energy supply, their opinions on future energy policy, their attitudes towards wind energy and the construction of wind farms nearby and the consultation process for wind projects.

Tomás O'Leary from MosArt Landscape Architects delivered How the Irish Public View Wind Farms in the Landscape (.pdf, 502kb) which followed from the initial survey to investigate how we value different landscapes common in Ireland and how the imposition of wind farms of differing scales, layouts and turbine-sizes impact upon that value.