A SOLAR farm on a 22-acre site near Kinsale has been granted planning permission by Cork County Council.
Local authority planners cleared the way for the development in the townland of Farrangalway, just north of Kinsale, for a ten-year period subject to conditions.
The farm will have the capacity to produce up to 6MW of electricity, providing power for up to 2,000 homes and, according to the developer Integer Energy Ltd, reducing local reliance on fossil fuels.
Permission was granted earlier this week for the solar array, a single-story transformer station, two energy storage units, a weather station, security fencing, CCTV and associated site works.
The application was approved in spite of several local objections.
Residents raised concerns about the project’s ecological impact, worries that it may worsen flooding in the area, and the farm’s visual incongruity with the surrounding landscape.
One resident whose home neighbours the lands said they had concerns that water run-off from the proposed site causes ‘significant flooding’ to the road and their property ‘on a regular basis’.
They warned that because the water generally flows east it results in ‘significant ponding in the north east corner of the field’ which impacts their water well.
They also raised concerns about the ‘cumulative impact’ of another solar farm of similar scale on the east side of their property which is being developed.
They added: ‘On this basis, the scale of the proposed development would have a detrimental impact on the rural character of this area, the visual amenity of the landscape, and the amenities, including visual impact, of residential property including my property.’
The objection also cites the ‘significant safety risk’ to local residents ‘as well as the many walkers and runners who use this laneway for recreational purposes daily’.
A second objection also raises issues around flooding, and says the development is on ‘prime agricultural land’ so a change of use signals the loss of nine hectares of ‘highly productive tillage farm land’.
Work on the solar farm is expected to begin shortly. It follows the refusal of one of the country’s largest solar farm proposals elsewhere in Cork in recent months.
