German financed wind technology brings power to the island of Cape Clear.
Taoiseach Charles Haughey and German Minister for Technology Heinz Riesenhuber were welcomed to Cape Clear off the coast of County Cork for the official launch of the island's new wind power generators.
The new project will make life easier for everybody on the island.
The new technology was funded largely by the Germans and came in at a cost of around £500,000. The two wind-powered generators, standing fifty feet above the top of the island and provide 30 kW each from the turning of their 12.5-meter blades.
The National Board for Science and Technology claims that this new technology is the first of its type in the world as it integrates wind generation with diesel generators and battery storage creating a complete power supply.
The German manufacturers are using Cape Clear as a testing ground for the technology. If it is a success, they hope that the ESB will be one of their first customers and then other countries will follow.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 23 October 1987. The reporter is Tom McSweeney.
