An Bord Pleanala has refused permission for Element Power Ireland’s proposed 47-turbine Maighne wind farm.

The planning agency said the 125MW project straddling the border between Co Kildare and Co Meath was premature, pending the adoption of either a national wind energy strategy or more local spatial strategies in the areas concerned.

The Board was also unhappy with the widely dispersed cluster-based layout which would have meant a disproportionately large visual envelope, proximity to many areas of both residential and heritage sensitivity and the need for extensive underground cabling in an area characterised by poor quality minor roads.