Leitrim Wind Farm Racks Up Losses of € 5.6 Million

Garvagh Glebe, a 26MW wind farm in Leitrim,  made a loss of € 3.5 million last year and has racked up combined losses of € 5.6 million after nine years. In 2017, it had a load factor of 23% after it's availability dropped to 59%. This means it was out of operation for 40% of the year and when it was operating only running on average at 23% of it's potential output.

The wind farm was completely dependent on funding from it's shareholder ESB to continue operating for another 12 months. This makes a complete mockery of the idea that renewables are competing against fossil fuels. ESB, which owns most of the fossil fuel power stations in the country, can only maintain investment in it's  loss making wind farms with funding from it's more profitable fossil fuel power sector. 

In 2008, during construction of the wind farm, 6,000 fish, mainly trout, were killed when tonnes of peat swept through the Owengar river which runs into Lough Allen. A similar incident occurred in Co.Galway during construction of another ESB owned Derrybrien wind farm where around 50,000 fish were killed.