Renewable Energy: Wind turbines
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Related LinksThis page provides the following advice on planning permission for wind turbines:
- Introduction
- Applying for planning permission
- Fees
- Relevant Policies
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Renewable Energy Grants
Planning permission is required for all wind turbines |
Key InformationPlanning permission is required for all wind turbines. This includes turbines for:
- domestic purposes
- hospitals
- factories
- farms
- schools
- serving other individual buildings
Planning applications for wind turbines should be submitted on the P1 form. The application must also be accompanied by the appropriate maps. Planning application forms, fees and explanatory notes can be found on our application forms and fees page.
Applications for domestic and specific (e.g. hospitals, factories or farms) Wind Turbines should be submitted to your Local Divisional Planning Office.
The fee for this type of application is found under Category 5 of our fee schedule. As at August 2009 this amounts to '£230 for each 0.1 hectare of the site area subject to a maximum of £11,500'. The full fees schedule, application forms and explanatory notes can be found on our application forms and fees page.
- Regional Development Strategy (RDS) for NI 2025 – SPG-ENV 5, SPG ENV 6
- Planning Policy Statement 1 – General Principles
- Planning Policy Statement 2 – Planning & Nature Conservation
- Planning Policy Statement 3 (Revised) – Access, Movement & Parking
- Planning Policy Statement 6 – Planning, Archaeology and the Built Heritage
- Relevant Development Plans
- DCAN 15 Vehicular Access Standards·
- Planning Strategy for Rural NI DES 4 in relation to ancillary buildings and structures.
- Planning Policy Statement 21 (Draft) – Sustainable Development in the Countryside in relation to ancillary buildings & structures elsewhere in the countryside.·
- Coastal policies in the RDS and Planning Strategy for Rural N Ireland (where applicable)
- Planning Policy Statement 18 - Renewable Energy
If an Environmental Statement is not submitted voluntarily with an application, most turbine applications will require that the Dept. carry out an Environmental Impact Determination under Schedule 2 (3) (j) of The Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999 
as amended by The Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008
as amended by The Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008In many cases (for example less than 2 turbines or where the hub height does not exceed 15 metres) applications for individual turbines for domestic purposes will not require to be accompanied by an Environmental Statement but you should contact your local divisional planning office for further information .
Where it is determined that an Environmental Statement is not required, the Department may nonetheless require the applicant to provide additional information to enable it to process the application – e.g. a noise assessment, ecological study or information on interference with emergency fixed links.
Each application will be judged on its own merits and additional information will depend on the individual circumstances. For example:
- site location,
- turbine height,
- site designations such as A.O.N.B's or Conservation Areas.
Grants for renewable energy schemes are administered through Action Renewables (Tel: 028 9068 5093).
(Tel: 028 9068 5093).| Note |
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Draft PPS 14 was withdrawn in November 2008. Draft PPS 21 ( 345 KB) sets out the new planning policies for development in the countryside. |
