Planning application for battery storage facility on banks of Lough Allen

A planning application has been lodged with Roscommon County Council for the development of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a 1.621 hectare site on the western shore of Lough Allen.

The proposed development is on the site of the former Arigna ESB Power Station which operated there from 1959 until its closure in 1993.

Arigna LDES Limited, in its application, said it intends to apply for permission for the development of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) designed to provide system support services to the electricity grid at the townlands of Tawlaght and Srabragan, Lough Allen, Co Roscommon which lies along the R280 between the towns of Drumshanbo and Drumkeerin.

The proposal consists of the installation of 56 No. battery containers and medium voltage power stations (MVPS); construction of a new single-storey IPP building; new internal access roads, drainage, civil engineering works, landscaping, lighting, car parking, security fencing and all associated site work.

The application was made by Mr Colm Staunton, Director, Halston Environmental & Planning Limited, Castlebar, Co Mayo, agent acting on behalf of Lumcloon Energy Limited.

Accompanying the application is a newspaper notice from the Irish Daily Star dated December 12, 2023.

A site notice was erected on December 17, 2023.

Also included in the application file is a letter by the owner of the lands, Hanney Properties Ltd, with an address in Tullamore, Co Offaly, stating that it consents to Arigna LDES making an application for planning permission on its lands in the townland of Tawlaght, Lough Allen, Co Roscommon. The letter is signed by Mr Nigel Reams.

Local residents have noted the application with alarm in such a scenic area and have expressed their concerns in relation to potential health issues, the impact on tourism, habitat loss and the devaluation of local property in the area.