Solar farm in Cork tourism jewel gets the go-ahead, as opposition to the tech grows across county

By Peter McCarthy, Corkman

Cork County Council has granted conditional planning permission for a small-scale solar farm with a 40-year operational lifespan in Kinsale.

The application to build the 9-hectare solar farm at Farrangalway, Mellifontstown, around 3 km north of the town of Kinsale, was made by Integer Energy Ltd, which said the 6 MW facility would provide enough energy to power over 2,000 homes.

The council’s planning department ruled that the proposed development would not seriously injure the amenities of the area and would not be prejudicial to public health and therefore would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.

Two objections were received, citing flood risks, loss of productive farmland and visual amenity, and the cumulative effect of solar farms in the area.

It has been a mixed period for the success of solar farm applications in county Cork as local opposition continues to grow. Earlier this month the local authority refused permission for a 179-hectare solar farm application at Ballysallagh in East Cork that attracted hundreds of objections.

In its refusal Cork County Council cited the potential for impacts on archaeological and cultural heritage, the prospect of the facility being a visually incongruous and overbearing feature on the rural landscape, and inadequate demonstration that the site wouldn’t lead to a net increase in water discharge rates or runoff volume.

In July the council also refused planning permission for a 100 MW solar farm extending across fourteen townlands in the Lee Valley, citing archaeological concerns. Aglish Solar Farm Limited had proposed to put solar panels on six parcels of land around the southern bank of the river Lee, about 25 km west of Cork city.

Meanwhile locals in North Cork have appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála against the council’s decision to grant conditional planning permission for a battery storage facility with a 35-year operational lifespan at Curraduff, Newmarket.