Major Tipperary solar farm project hits setback as application invalid
Plans for a major 151-hectare solar farm in Tipperary have stalled after the council ruled the developer’s planning application invalid.
Patricks Rock Solar Ltd had applied to the council for planning permission to construct a 151-hectare solar farm near Cashel.
As part of the plans, the company were seeking permission for solar panels on ground-mounted galvanised steel frames, 17 transformer units, a permanent operations compound, inverters, and underground cabling and ducting.
The solar farm would have the potential to power almost 47,000 households a year, agents for the developer said.
However, the proposed plans have been deemed to be invalid by Tipperary County Council.
Planners in the council said that the application was invalid because of issues with the published notice in the newspaper informing people of the plans, as well as issues with the company’s registration number.
The newspaper notice “is misleading” according to planners, who said that the developer was required to remove the reference to the civic offices in Clonmel as the place to go to view the files, as planning files can be viewed in both civic offices in Clonmel and Nenagh.
Planners also outlined that the incorrect CRO number was listed on their application, further contributing to the application’s invalidity.
"You are advised that any valid planning application will be subject to a completeness check in accordance with ... the Planning and Development Act,” planners said.
Patricks Rock Solar Ltd has now reapplied for planning permission for the development, which is now at pre-validation stage.
Pre-validation is the process used by the local authority to check and verify all files as submitted as part of a planning application in order to decide if it constitutes a valid planning application or not.
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If all is in order, Tipperary County Council is due to make a decision on the planning application by January 3, 2026.
Elsewhere in Tipperary, planning permission was granted on appeal for another solar farm earlier this year – a move that locals described as “deeply disappointing”.
Power Capital were granted planning permission on appeal by An Coimisiún Pleanála (formerly An Bord Pleanála), for a solar farm near the village of Dualla – despite strong opposition from local residents.
Planning files for the Patricks Rock Solar development note that their development “adjoins the application site boundary for a granted application for a solar farm development by Power Capital at Boscabel”.