Coolglass Wind Farm Ltd wants to build the 13-turbine wind farm at Timahoe, Co Laois, 11km southeast of Portlaoise. Photograph: iStockA decision to refuse permission for a Co Laois wind farm will be quashed, after a big Supreme Court judgment on the climate law obligations of planning authorities and public bodies. The judgment delivered on Wednesday by Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell, upheld a High Court order that overturned the 2024 refusal of planning permission for the Co Laois project but for reasons different and narrower than those cited by the lower court. Planners had refused permission because the Laois county development plan prohibited wind farms on the site due to visual concerns. “Accordingly, the decision of the commission must be quashed, and the decision of the High Court in this regard must be upheld, albeit on different, and narrower grounds.”

Source: The Irish Times February 04, 2026 17:24 UTC