A long-awaited major revision of guidelines for wind energy developments in the Republic of Ireland has been published.

The proposed changes include the application of a more stringent noise limit in tandem with a more robust noise-monitoring regime and an expectation that connections will be undergrounded except where ground conditions prevent this.

The new regime requires a visual amenity setback of four times the turbine height between a wind turbine and the nearest residential property, with a mandatory minimum distance of 500m and measures to eliminate shadow flicker.