Two local Councils earn significant rates income from wind farms

Four local authorities, including two in the Shannonside, region,  depend on wind farms for over 10 percent of their rates income.

A study by KPMG for Wind Energy Ireland reveals they contribute 22 percent of rates in Leitrim, 15.5 percent in Co Tipperary, 14 percent in Roscommon 13.6 percent in Cavan.

It says close to two thousand more jobs will be added in the sector in the next decade -- around a third of them operational jobs. Russell Smyth, who's a partner at KMPG, says the amount of tax paid is set to more than double over the coming decade.