Catherine Drea: Future thinking, turbines and the Tramore horizon

Did you ever get the ominous feeling that the powers that be have their eye off the ball yet again? That’s what hit me, yet again, during last week when I spotted two ships on the horizon in clear view of the shoreline, off the coast of Tramore.

I was sitting in the freezing conditions of post-New Year and minding my own business when the general chat around me turned to a few questions about the large ship activity in the bay recently. 

Who, what and why, they asked. The chat quickly spread around the crowd in Molly’s enjoying the cold sunny day.

“Maybe it’s to do with those wind turbines?” one man said.

“Can you imagine what our lives will be like when the bay becomes an industrialised zone?” said another.

“I will tie myself to the Metal Man rather than let that happen?” said one of my granny friends.

Let’s not lose the run of ourselves I thought. 

“Well those ships could be there for anything?” I said. 

But no one wanted to hear that. 

Already there is some alarm at what influence or power any of us have to understand the reach and impact of the changes that need to happen to feed our lifestyles. 

The conversation turned to energy. We have to have alternative energy, we all agreed, but it has to safeguard our precious coastline.

Holy cow (and other phrases) came to mind as I walked away wondering if I had been half asleep about all this. I knew that the wind turbines were a possibility, but I suppose I thought that the Government would ensure that our most precious amenities and our marine wildlife would be protected?

Having immersed myself in the proposals now I’m not so sure.

Are we all half asleep when it comes to facing our future? 

There is no doubt that we will have to change our way of life and everything that we could assume before when climate change forces us. We need alternative sources of energy. 

We have to act to catch up on our carbon reduction targets. We can’t just keep saying not in my backyard.

So I now understand that the wind turbine project will happen. Talking to everyone I meet, I get the impression that we have all accepted that. 

The general plan for these 300 metre tall turbines (think of the Eiffel Tower as a size guide) have already been approved in principle.

But here’s where the sticking point is. There are four agreed sites off the coast of Waterford, Tramore and the Copper Coast. We may not like any of this but in general we accept the three that are 22-29 kilometres from our beautiful coastline, our homes and businesses, Zone B, C and D.

Zone A, which is to be built 12.4 kilometres from our shores, is far too close to everything that we hold dear as a community! 

I for one will be joining my granny friend and tying myself to the Metal Man if they even attempt to grant planning permission for turbines that are so close to our homes, our beaches and our thriving businesses!

It’s not a time to sit back and hope for the best. There is no point in building something that is already out of date. Our protected marine life, our incredible local amenities, our whole lifestyle here needs far more attention and protection. 

I’m listening out for our new TDs to comment, but there seems to be a deafening silence.

Only recently I was writing about the fact that Tramore residents once lived with a dump right in the middle of the lake behind the Prom. What were they thinking! 

When that had to be moved it was put just behind the beach only to be moved again when people copped on yet again. We now have a stunning Eco Park there. 

Can you imagine how half asleep we all were then? Let’s not make any more similar and huge mistakes! Time to wake up!

As I am still only catching up with what has been happening I would like to see all of the objections made public. Listen to me now Eirgrid! Your website and Submission Portal might as well be down in a dark well! How on earth are ordinary people supposed to engage with this process through that labyrinth? 

What is going to happen, if we are not careful, is that the few people who understand how to sift through all of this will simply become more and more isolated and the rest of us will be left behind.

Meanwhile, back to the crowd outside of Molly’s trying to get their heads around what might be happening. Well we met up again. This time we were armed with more information.

Now we agree that we would like to see an Environmental Impact Study as to the possible effects of this whole development on our environment, on fishing, on tourism and on nature. 

We would also like to know who amongst our politicians, local councillors and activists will stand against this unsuitable location of Zone A?

We welcome the opportunity for real clean, sustainable energy but not in Zone A, no matter how shallow or convenient that area is. 

Thanks to Blue Horizon (www.bluehorizon.ie/) for raising this exact issue all along and being our eyes and ears when we needed it.