The government of Northern Ireland has given the green light to a new 66 MW wind turbine installation, according to Renewable Energy Magazine.

A plan for the construction of 11 turbines was validated by the Northern Ireland Strategic Planning Directorate Department for Infrastructure. The amount of energy generated by the Mullaghclogher farm would be enough to power 80,000 homes with clean electricity, or 10% of Northern Ireland’s housing.

The plant would be built in Mullaghclogher within a protected region, the Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, just south of Londonderry. The developer, Renewable Energy Systems (RES), has made an environmental impact assessment as part of the application process.

Wind power is a major source of renewable energy, second only to solar power’s output. It is one of many necessary solutions in displacing fossil fuel energy and reducing the atmospheric pollution it generates. That pollution exacerbates destructive weather patterns like drought and floods, melts ice caps to the point of raising ocean levels, and both warms and acidifies oceans.

RES believes the Mullaghclogher wind farm could alleviate 118,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Other major wind installations are underway in the U.S. to achieve similar results. These include one off the shore of Massachusetts, two more off New Jersey’s shores, and another in New York.

Additional approvals are still needed for construction in Mullaghclogher to proceed, but the developers of the project are keen to highlight how the wind farm would benefit the region economically.

“The construction of the 25 MW Castlecraig Wind Farm, near Drumquin, provided employment for around 50 local people and injected over £3 million of inward investment in the immediate area alone, delivering significant local economic benefits which we also hope to realize at Mullaghclogher, if consented,” said RES Development Project Manager Ellen Cross, per Renewable Energy Magazine.

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