PLANNING permission is being sought for a 109 hectare (269 acre) solar farm in South Clare.
GP Joule Ireland Limited lodged a planning application just before Christmas for the huge development in the townlands of Ballycar, Lislea, Kilulla, Mogullaan and Crossagh, Rathlaheen South, Culleen, Drumline and Ballycasey Beg.
GP Joule Ireland are the Irish arm of a German energy firm. They are based in Co Meath and a decision to allow them develop a large solar facility in that county has proved controversial and is currently before An Bord Pleanála.
The company are seeking approval for a ten year development phase followed by a 40 year operational lifespan for the solar farm.
The development would be so large that part of the planning application is for 8.6 Kilometres of new and upgraded internal access tracks to provide connectivity within the site.
Six new site entrances are proposed, including modification to existing junctions to accommodate construction access and the delivery of abnormal loads. These access points would connnect to Local Roads (L3166, Ballycar Road L3174 and L3136) and the Regional Road R458. All new entrances would link directly to the public road network.
It would include the installation of ground mounted photovoltaic (PV) panels on steel frames across the site.
The development would incorporate 256 inverters arranged in a series string configuration, supported by 24 electrical skid hardstands that would house transformer units and a ring main unit facility. The development would also mean the construction of a transformer compound to facilitate a connection to the existing 110kV Drumline Substation. An internal network cable would be installed to enable an under-the-fence connection from the on-site transformer compound to the adjacent substation.
The transformer compound would include an Independent Power Producer (IPP) building, a 110kV transformer, and an 18 metre-high lightning monopole mast.
At the time of writing the full planning application is not available to the public, but that will change in the coming days.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.