Plans for a 151-hectare solar farm capable of powering almost 47,000 homes have been resubmitted to Tipperary County Council.
Patricks Rock Solar Ltd have applied to the council for planning permission to construct a solar farm near Cashel.
As part of the plans, the company is seeking permission for solar panels on ground-mounted galvanised steel frames, 17 transformer units, a permanent operations compound, inverters, and underground cabling and ducting.
Agents for the developer said the solar farm could generate enough electricity to power almost 47,000 homes annually.
Last year, plans for the development were deemed invalid by the local authority, because of issues with the published notice in the newspaper informing people of the plans, as well as issues with the company’s registration number.
Now, Patrick’s Rock Solar have submitted a new application for the development, which sits just over a kilometre from Cashel town.
The new application addresses a number of concerns previously raised by council planners, including archaeological impacts, the proposed access route and the potential impact on bats.
The council said in response to a previous application that the firm’s “archaeological and cultural heritage impact assessment (ACHIA) and the strategy outlined in same is not considered to be adequate”.
“The application requires further evaluation and assessment of archaeological impacts,” they said in deeming the application invalid.
The council also raised concerns about the impacts of the solar farm on the nearby M8 motorway, and said more details were needed on this.
“There is concern that the use of the access track directly adjacent to the M8 motorway, may cause confusion and/or distraction to the users of the motorway,” the council said.
They also said that the proposed site office should not be adjacent to the motorway and should be moved elsewhere on the site.
Patricks Rock Solar said that under the revised plans, the internal access track for the development will no longer run parallel to the M8, and will be relocated to avoid proximity to the motorway.
The council planners also required that a bat survey be lodged with the application to assess the impacts of the proposed development on bat species in the area.
The company have now included a bat survey as part of the application to address the concerns of the council.
The site proposed for the solar farm is mainly used as agricultural land, agents acting on behalf of the developer said.
“The field networks are bounded by dense, mixed hedgerows and mature trees on all sides, which provide a good framework of well-established and dense vegetative screening around the site boundary,” they added.
An agent working on behalf of Patricks Rock Solar said that, while no large planning applications have been previously lodged on the site, their planned solar farm does adjoin the boundary for a permitted solar farm development by Power Capital.
Tipperary County Council is due to make a decision on the plans by October 22.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme