Castletown Beach ruled out as landing option for wind turbines

Manx Utilities says parts for proposed Earystane wind farm would now arrive in Douglas

Castletown Beach has been ruled out as Manx Utilities' preferred option for landing wind turbines.

It's as the authority progresses plans to build a wind farm at Earystane.

In October last year, the green light was given to progress plans for the onshore wind farm.

Government says the initial assessments meant the site appears to have the lowest environmental impact when compared to other options.

Manx Utilities is now progressing the project to the Environmental Impact Assessment and Design stage.

The controversial plans are expected to cost around £36 million in total.

Now, the authority has confirmed that Castletown Beach is no longer a preferred option as a landing location.

It says the completion of a Swept Path Analysis for transport routes has determined Douglas Port to be the best place.

Should the development proceed, Manx Utilities says the turbines - with blades measuring around 170 feet - would land instead at Victoria Pier.

They'll then be transported to the site via Castletown and Port Erin.

It's hoped the wind farm will be able to generate more than 20 megawatts of energy for the Island - enough to power around 20,000 homes.

You can see the planned route for the transportation of the wind turbines below.