A local Green Party councillor says it's 'no wonder why' more politicians don't support more wind power, given the volume of objections to any proposals.
Cllr. Susan Gallagher tweeted this week, to say that she had recieved just one email supporting her stance on wind power, but 461 objections.
I'm counting up all the emails in my inbox relating to wind energy. I have received one email thanking me for voting in favour of an onshore wind farm and 461 emails objecting to any wind farms off the Waterford coast. And we wonder why more politicians don't support wind power.
— Cllr Susan Gallagher (@sugallagher2) August 16, 2021
Cllr. Gallagher says people are far more likely to speak up for something they oppose than something they favour.
"It's hard to know what the actual numbers of people in favour, or against something actually are. We're all more likely to speak up when we oppose something, rather than when we're in favour of it. That's what the tweet was about, really."
Cllr. Gallagher feels we are running out of time to reverse the effects of climate change. She says Waterford is a perfect place for wind energy, and as society cannot function without energy - it has to come from somewhere.
"We're running out of time. We seen the report last week. We still need energy, society cannot function without it. It has to come from somewhere. We have an awful lot of wind in Ireland, so it seems like one of the obvious sources. What interested me was the number of people opposed to any form of offshore. I had expected a lot more would oppose on-shore wind. That surprised me, actually."
It's hard for people to visualise what size turbines will be on offshore wind farms. Cllr. Gallagher says the depth of water in Waterford makes some people's wishes unfeasible.
"I've asked a few energy engineering experts about the size of these turbines. I've received emails asking that all turbines be at least 22km out from the coast. The problem that we have in Waterford, is that there is very deep water beyond that."
