Why this Wexford community is refusing to back down in fight against 300-acre solar farm

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

As the fight to prevent a 300-acre solar farm being developed in their community continues, the people of Gusserane, Co Wexford have highlighted how disastrous they believe the development would be for their local environment.

Citing the impact on protected species, the loss of habitat, and the impact on rivers, groundwater, and biodiversity, committee members from the Gusserane Community Action Group (GCAG) were joined by South East Radio’s Alan Corcoran to discuss these concerns in a public setting this week.

Held in Gusserane Hall, this emergency meeting was attended by many of the 120 people who have raised formal objections about the Shelburne Energy Farm.

In September of last year, Gen7 Renewable Energy Limited submitted a planning application for the development of the solar farm on a 121.5 hectare site at Cloonagh/Ballygarvan/Nash, Dunmain in Co Wexford. Thereafter, on November 21, 2025, Wexford County Council (WCC) requested further information regarding the application; requesting more detailed drawings, details on the access points of the farm, and information regarding cable networking.

It also asked for the total number of proposed containerised transformers and PCUs (solar power conditioning units), information on the maintenance of the panels, and evidence of community engagement.

Until this information is supplied WCC cannot approve or reject the application for planning. And while the development has been the subject of much debate in the council chamber since the GCAG held a protest outside County Hall last December, chief executive of WCC Mr Eddie Taaffe has stated he is legally obliged to treat the application objectively when it is finalised.

This has not deterred the GCAG, however, and, at the meeting, they raised concerns about the “industrial scale of the project, the proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and 220kV substation and its proximity to Gusserane National School”, and the “loss of productive agricultural land”.

Chairman Terry Murphy addressing the attendees during the solar farm public meeting in the Gusserane Community Hall on Monday evening. Photo: Jim Campbell

A spokesperson for the group said many of their concerns are “rooted in environmental protection, including the potential loss of habitats and impacts on protected species, local rivers, groundwater and downstream designated areas”.

"Protecting the natural environment and ensuring developments are properly located and regulated is central to our argument,” the spokesperson said. “In addition, we are very frustrated with WCC’s request for further information, particularly when compared to how other county councils have treated similar developments.

"WCC’s request has not adequately reflected or addressed the concerns raised in over 120 submissions (made by the public) which makes this the most opposed planning application in the county’s history.”

Contending that WCC’s decision to designate large areas of the county as “open for consideration” for solar development, has left the county “uniquely exposed to speculative energy developers”, the group stated that “several other counties chose not to make such designations while awaiting national policy”.

"This, coupled with one of the highest approval rates of any county in Ireland, has effectively opened the door to a surge of large-scale energy proposals in rural communities,” they added.

With the overriding feeling being that this is the “wrong development in the wrong place” and that Gusserane and is a “fundamentally unsuitable location” for a solar farm, the GCAG claimed there was a “lack of meaningful community engagement (from the developer) prior to the application being lodged”.