Plans have been formally lodged with Clare County Council by the ESB to construct a £15 million wind farm at Moneypoint power station.
Less than half the height of the Moneypoint chimneys, the nine-turbine wind farm is to be dotted around the Moneypoint coal-burning station, which provides about 20 per cent of the State's electricity.
The wind farm will feed directly into a local grid that will provide electricity to 15,000 homes in Clare.
The ESB already has one other wind farm in its commercial portfolio - a five megawatt development in Co Donegal.
An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) lodged with the Moneypoint plan states there will be "no significant adverse impacts on the environment arising from the development".
The EIS points out that the lower Shannon is the most important site for wintering waterfowl in Ireland, with whooper swans, Brent goose and lapwings. However, at Moneypoint, the wind turbines are "not assessed as presenting a significant hazard to waterfowl" with the nearest site holding concentrations of wintering waterfowl being more than five kilometres away.
A feature that undermines many wind farm plans is the necessity to provide overhead power lines from wind farms to join up with the ESB grid. There will be no such requirement in the Moneypoint application.
The lodging of the application follows a widespread consultation initiative in the Kilrush area earlier this year.
During the consultation, a presentation was made to neighbours and local council members and officials, while a public meeting took place in April. Brochures concerning the development were also distributed.
Members of Kilrush's urban council have already given their backing to the scheme.
A decision by the county council is expected in early October.
