Clouds on the horizon for Cork’s solar farm ambitions
Cork, Ireland’s largest county and one with relatively good exposure to the sun, has become a hotspot for solar farm planning applications in recent years.
There have been mixed results for the companies involved, as local opposition continues to grow and Cork County Council has begun turning down some of the larger schemes. Some developers have already lodged appeals with An Coimisiún Pleanála.
The council has approved several smaller solar farms, however, as well as a battery energy storage system facility near the town of Newmarket that has sparked fierce opposition from local people, who are themselves appealing.
In Leamlara, Califf Delaney, chair of the Leamlara Preservation Group, says a proposal for a 440-acre solar farm by Ballysallagh Solar Farm Ltd, which is with An Coimisiún Pleanála, will effectively surround his home and directly affect more than 100 other homes in the area.
Mr Delaney has solar panels on his own roof, which he says is where they belong, rather than becoming an eyesore blanketing the countryside and productive agricultural land.
Some argue that solar panels should not be installed on agricultural land. Photo: Getty
“We understand climate issues, climate targets that have to be achieved, but community consultation will be really important if the Government or anyone else wants to roll out these developments in rural communities,” he said.
“We just don’t think some areas are suitable for solar, and it’s really the Government and county councils need to get on top of this and decide where these developments are going to go, as opposed to the private developers deciding where they’re going to go by simply finding a landowner they can strike a deal with.”
Last month, renewable energy giant Orsted applied for a 323-hectare (800 acre) solar farm on the Greenhills dairy farm on lands around Killeagh, in east Cork.
Theresa Riordan Carey of the Inch Killeagh Rural Preservation Group told the Irish Independent: “We’re trying to push for legislation on the use of prime agricultural land for renewables. We want to look at a scheme where prime farmland can be graded so it is not used for solar.
“We want the Government to put solar on every roof in Ireland and focus on more suitable land, such as brownfield sites, before considering agricultural land.”
Ronan Power, chief executive of Solar Ireland. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Compared to the vagaries of agriculture, hosting solar panels can offer farmers a steady, predictable income over decades. According to Teagasc, landowners can receive between €2,200 and €3,500 per hectare every year for 25 years or longer.
But not all farmers approve. The Irish Farming Association (IFA) has said that solar farms should be situated in more marginal areas rather than on prime farmland.
Speaking generally, Ronan Power, the chief executive of industry group Solar Ireland, said it was a common misconception that solar farms would use inordinate amounts of land.
“In order to reach our climate action targets of 2030, we only need about 0.1pc of all the land available in Ireland and, in fact, if you look at it over the term of a solar farm, it actually starts to regenerate some of the soil nutrients and create better farming land for the future,” he said.
He also said it was a misconception that new solar capacity would simply be gobbled up by energy-hungry data centres, which he said are increasingly sourcing their own renewable power off the national grid.