Conditional planning permission granted for renewable energy farm covering almost 60 hectares in Carlow

Conditional planning permission has been granted for 10 years for a solar farm covering roughly 57 hectares across seven townlands in Co. Carlow.

The solar farm will consist of solar panels on ground mounted frames, eight electrical inverter/transformer stations, two spare parts containers, a ring main unit, three weather stations, underground electrical ducting, security fencing, CCTV, acesss tracks, five watercourse/drain deck crossings and two drill crossings.

The operational lifespan of the solar farm is 40 years and planning permission was sought for that long but only 10 years were approved. 

The townlands the farm will be in include Ballybannon, Ballybar Lower, Ballybar Upper, Ballycarney, Ballyloo, Cloghna, and Linkardstown and Park.

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Ballyloo Solar Farm Limited made the application that was granted conditional planning on November 2.

There are 35 conditions that need to be met before works can get underway. 

One of those is that for any reason the farm stops working for a year, it will be dismantled and permanently removed from the site. 

No artificial lighting is allowed to be erected on the site, there must be CCTV, and all cables must be underground. 

The Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, Uisce Éireann, and Irish Rail put submissions in against the farm. 

All of the bodies made recommendations and observations but did not oppose the development.