Planning bid for another large South Roscommon solar farm
A planning application has been lodged for another large-scale solar farm development in South Roscommon, one which the developer said would involve an investment of €66 million.
The proposed solar farm would be spread across 53 fields on a 77 hectare site in the townlands of Cuilmore and Cloonrollagh, situated to the south west of Bealnamulla.
It would be named Cuilmore Solar Farm, and would be located 370 metres north of the Dublin to Galway railway line.
The proposed development would be just over a kilometre to the southwest of a separate and unrelated solar farm project, the TDC Community Solar Park, in the townlands of Taduff, Curraghleen and Creagh in Drum.
The TDC Community Solar Park was granted planning permission last year and a major proposed extension to it is due to be decided upon by An Bord Pleanala in February.
The application for Cuilmore Solar Farm was submitted, on behalf of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Ltd, by Neo Environmental Ltd which has its head office in Glasgow.
The application included declarations from four landowners in the area giving consent for their land to be used in the project.
The developer outlined the scale of the solar farm and some of potential economic benefits from it in the planning application.
"A solar farm of up to 5MW typically requires a capital investment of €6m, so on a pro rata basis this figure will be circa €66m in the case of the subject site, much of which is spent on local supply chain," the application stated.
Under the heading of 'landowner benefit' it said the solar farm would "provide a stable and diversified source of revenue over a sustained period, while improving the ecological value of the site and safeguarding its reuse for agriculture in future."
The project would involve "the construction of PV panels mounted on metal frames, new access tracks, underground cabling, inverter substations, perimeter fencing with CCTV cameras and access gates and all ancillary grid infrastructure."
The proposed solar panels are to be positioned at an angle of 10-40 degrees, and would be a maximum height of 2.5m from the ground.
The design for the project includes a CCTV security system incorporating 95 infrared cameras, supported on 3.5m-high galvanised steel posts with anti-climb guard positioned at intervals around the security fence line.
The site of the solar farm is described as being 4.6km southwest of Monksland and 7.8km southwest of Athlone town.
Access to the site would "from two entry points off an existing local road that runs in a general east to west location off the L2026," the application said.
A five-year planning permission is being sought for the project, and it was stated that the solar farm would be "operational for 35 years".
A decision on the planning application is due to be made by Roscommon County Council by January 12.