What’s Happening With The Onshore Wind Farm?

PHOTO: Philip Jenkins took this picture of the new sign at the top of the Sloc.

After what felt like approximately 14 years (it was actually just over a year), Manx Utilities has finally given an update on the controversial Cair Vie windfarm project.

And in classic big-project fashion, the update is essentially: ‘yes, it’s still happening… sort of.’

The proposed £36 million windfarm at Earystane and Scard in the south of the island has been causing arguments louder than The Trafalgar after last orders ever since it was first announced.

Last week, Arbory and Rushen Commissioners chair Kirrie Jenkins publicly blasted the lack of information surrounding the scheme, saying residents had been left in a ‘void’ with no updates since March 2025.

To be fair, she’s got a point. People have been sat there staring at hills wondering if giant turbines are about to appear on them.

Now, Manx Utilities has responded with an update confirming the project is still in the ‘pre-application’ stage and no planning application has actually been submitted yet.

They say ecological and technical studies have been ongoing since 2024 and they’re currently pulling together documents for a future planning submission.

Manx Utilities stressed that nothing has been approved yet, no turbines have been bought, and no construction commitments can happen without planning permission and Tynwald approval.

They also promised there’ll be more public engagement once plans are developed enough for ‘meaningful scrutiny’.

The whole thing has become one of the island’s most divisive projects (along with the offshore windfarm project – more on that later this week), with supporters arguing the island desperately needs renewable energy, while opponents fear the impact on wildlife, scenery and local communities.

Campaigners from the Cair Vie Resistance Group have repeatedly raised concerns about environmental impacts, while local commissioners are now urging Tynwald members to properly scrutinise the proposals before things become too far advanced.

They’ve got a new sign up too, as pictured at the top of this article, at the top of the Sloc.

For now though, the giant windmills of the south remain theoretical.