End-of-life considerations for onshore wind in Ireland

Most Irish wind farms have been granted a time-limited, 20 year, planning consent with a requirement to subsequently decommission. However, in the context of renewable energy targets, increasing pressure on land and opposition facing new sites, it will be important for existing sites to retain their license to operate. This could be achieved through extending the existing planning permission (life extension) or through getting permission for new, more efficient turbines on the site (repowering). This research used policy analysis and in-depth interviews to investigate the age of the infrastructure, the policy context and end-of-life challenges facing the sector.

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