Wind farm gets planning approval

A computer generated image of what the wind farm will look like

Planning approval has been given for a wind farm in Carn Hill, Newtownabbey, in County Antrim.

Gaelectric is to build a 14 Megawatt wind farm of six wind turbines, capable of generating energy for 8,200 homes a year.

The company has also committed to spending up to £5m in construction and operation costs with local companies, creating up to 30 jobs.

Gaelectric has 25 projects at different stages of development in Ireland.

Brendan McGrath, chief executive of Gaelectric, said the company had been working on planning for a range of sites in Antrim and Tyrone for a number of years.

"The Carn Hill approval is very welcome as it heralds the beginning of the execution of the next stage of our development in Northern Ireland," he said.

'It was very helpful over the last several years to be able to deal with the Northern Ireland Executive which was open to the benefits of renewable energy and to finding a solution that would work for the area."

The company said it would also set up a locally administered community fund amounting to £210,000 for community projects which would reiterate the company's commitment to engaging fully with local people.