Renewable developer RES has submitted a planning application for a new 12-turbine Carnbuck wind farm near Corkey, Co Antrim.

The Carnbuck project - located in the townlands of Carnbuck, Magheraboy and Moneyneagh - is adjacent to the existing Gruig Wind Farm.

The development will be capable of generating enough renewable electricity for 55,000 homes each year.

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RES development project manager David McVeigh said: “The urgent need to reduce carbon emissions is ever pressing and wind, as a free and inexhaustible resource, has a crucial role to play.

“Recent analysis has shown that Northern Ireland consumers saved £500m because wind farms produced 42% of our electricity last year,” he said.

Consultation

Following public consultations held in March 2022 and January 2023, RES has reviewed the feedback received from the community and key consultees, together with the findings from the environmental and technical studies.

This fed into the site layout, which has been designed to minimise impacts, including a shared site entrance and some infrastructure with the existing Gruig Wind Farm, which will reduce the environmental footprint and traffic movements associated with wind farm construction.

Investment

It’s estimated that the development would involve a capital spend of around £65m, of which nearly £30m will be realised within the Northern Ireland economy.

In Northern Ireland, RES has developed and/or constructed 22 onshore wind farms equating to nearly 380MW and operates over 150MW of wind projects.