Plans lodged for large-scale South Roscommon solar farm
A planning application for a large-scale South Roscommon solar farm project spanning 116 hectares, or around 286 acres, was lodged with the council this week.
Cuilmore Solar Ltd is behind the proposed project which would be located to the north of the M6 motorway in Drum. The solar farm itself would be centred across the townlands of Esker, Cuilmore, Cloonrallagh, Corraree and Ballygatta.
The project also includes the installation of an on-site 38kV substation and battery energy storage system, along with 9.5 kilometres of underground cabling that would connect the solar farm to the ESB substation in Monksland.
According to the plans, the underground cabling linking the electrical substation with the solar farm would traverse the townlands of "Monksland, Bellanamullia, Cloonakille, Rooskagh, Curraghaleen, Cloonrollagh, Ardnanure, Newtown, and Cuilmore" in South Roscommon.
A Natura Impact Statement submitted as part of the plans states that the company behind the proposal, Cuilmore Solar Limited, was "established in 2023 for the purpose of developing, constructing and operating the proposed development" and that it's "wholly owned by Aer Soléir, a pan-European renewable energy developer headquartered in Ireland".
Aer Soléir, it was added, is "backed by Quantum Energy Partners, a leading capital provider to the global sustainable energy and decarbonisation sectors with more than $21 billion in capital commitments".
In September 2022, planning approval was granted to Renewable Energy Systems (‘RES’) Ltd for a solar development within 78 hectares of the proposed site, however the Natura Impact Statement outlined that the 2022 proposal had since been "refined" and expanded, and that the current proposed project "will supersede the previously permitted development".
The overall site of the project is located some 10.6km southwest of Athlone town and is accessed via the local road network to the east (L7577 and L75771), which connects to the L2026 (Ardnaure Road).
If approved, this would be the second major solar farm project in the general Drum area, after EDF power solutions Ireland secured permission in 2020 for the Taduff Solar Park on a site to the east of the proposed Cuilmore development.
Work on the Taduff Solar Park is presently getting underway, and it's expected to be operational by the Spring of 2028.
The plans for the Cuilmore development include 2.6 metre tall solar PV panels laid out in arrays across the site of 110 hectares, as well as 48 battery energy storage units and 15 transformer units.
Letters of consent for the development from seven local landowners were submitted as part of the planning application, which was lodged with Roscommon County Council on Wednesday, April 15.
The planning notice for the project states that Cuilmore Solar Ltd is seeking a 10-year planning permission for development, while beneath the section detailing the proposed 9.5km of underground cabling it states: "The operational lifespan of the development will be 40 years, and planning permission is requested for this duration."
Public submissions on the plans can be made up until May 19, and Roscommon County Council's decision on the planning application is expected to be made by July 23.