RESIDENTS in Brookeborough have this week hit out at the “faceless people” they believe are responsible for several recent incidents in the area, including threats, extortion and bomb warnings.
A letter signed on behalf of locals accuses those responsible for the incidents believed to be aimed at energy company Energia of “living in cuckoo land” and “hiding away in our community.” 
A fortnight ago a fake pipe bomb discovered two miles from Engeria’s wind farm project resulted in a number of people being evacuated from their homes. 
Weeks earlier residents in the area were evacuated from their homes after a gas cylinder was placed under a bridge and set on fire.
Unidentified individuals were also said to be seeking to extort money from the owners of the wind farm and threats were made to local construction workers based at the site.
17 electricity poles along the grid route between Teiges Hill Road and Grogey Road were also cut part the way through with a hand saw in mid January, rendering them unfit for purpose.
To coincide with its project, Energia recently administered grants worth £50,000 to groups carrying out local projects in the Brookeborough, Cooneen and Knocks areas.
The Teiges Mountain Wind Farm Fund which is worth £50,000 over each of the next 25 years, a total of £1.25 million, is in jeopardy if the wind farm is not constructed on time. 
Following the intimidation, suspicious objects, threats and two visits by bomb disposal officers in the space of a week a number of those people who benefit from the fund have penned an open letter.
The letter to this newspaper “submitted and supported by representatives from the community groups within the area” have said anyone trying to cause disruption is “living in cuckoo land.”
“19 local groups within a set radius has to date benefitted financially from the proposed wind farm which is currently under construction. Local farmers directly impacted by the ongoing works have received compensation.
“However a few think for them it’s an opportunity to help themselves... they hold no political or religious support as they hide away in our community. They seek to pursue the easy pounds we all work hard to earn. The local and wider community are appalled and disgusted at the levels they have chosen to stoop to,” said the letter.
Managing Director of Energia Peter Baillie recently stressed that the company’s New York headquartered owners have very strict anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies and are “crystal clear” in their refusal to deal with groups who are “seeking to extort money.” He said that could put the much needed investment to the area at risk. 
This week’s letter from locals continued: “If the wind farm funding is to stop it will be the result of extortionists who lost their own pride in the community. Dammed by all for destroying an opportunity for local people to improve the area we live in.” 
Lauri McCusker, Director of Fermanagh Trust, told this newspaper that the community fund is a model of “best practice in terms of corporate social responsibility both in terms of the scale of the funds and its implementation.”
“Fermanagh Trust is delighted to support the company and the local community over the past year and look forward to a strong and effective relationship in the coming months and years,” he said.
Energia decided to release £50,000 in advance of the wind farm becoming operational in recognition of the disruption caused to the local community during the construction phase.
When operational, the five General Electric turbines, which will stand at 120 metres tall, with a rotor blade diameter of 103 metres, will generate 11MW of electricity each year - enough to power 7,000 homes. It will also contribute to strengthening the resilience of the rural electricity network in that area.