Clare could become the first county in Ireland to generate electricity from solar energy following the granting of planning permission to Terra Solar to develop and operate the company’s second solar farm in Firgrove, Sixmilebridge. Construction on the Terra project is expected to commence mid next year, creating 60 jobs during the 12 week build. The Irish company also received planning permission earlier this year for another solar farm located in Ballymorris near Cratloe. Both solar farms are similar in size and between them will generate enough electricity from the sun to power nearly 2,500 homes in the county. Solar power is regarded as one of the cleanest sources of energy and has minimal impact on the environment as it does not emit pollution during production or consumption. The farms will remove nearly 3,600 tonnes of carbon emissions from the atmosphere, helping Clare County Council in its work towards meeting the national target of generating 40% of energy used from …
Read More »Consultant deflects objections to €5m Cratloe solar farm
Terra Solar, which is leading the development of solar energy generation in Clare, has submitted additional information to Clare County Council in relation to its application to build the county’s first solar farm at Cratloe. Following a request for additional information from the council’s planning department, Terra Solar engaged independent experts and undertook additional surveys of the Ballymorris site in order to ensure that council planners and residents could be assured on all aspects of the proposed development. “We have carefully chosen the site at Ballymorris and have designed our solar farm so as to have minimal impact on the environment and on the local community. We are pleased to provide this additional information to Clare County Council and it is important that the general public also take the opportunity to understand our proposals”, said Donal Fewer, Project Director, Terra Solar. “We will continue to work with the council and local residents as we seek to develop solar energy generation …
Read More »€30m investment plan in Clare solar power
Plans have been unveiled for the development of six solar farms, which could result in €30 million renewable energy investment in the county over the coming years. County Clare could become a leading generator of solar powered energy with the announcement that the county’s first solar farm is to be located at Ballymorris in Cratloe, just off the N18 Ennis-Limerick road. The 12.4 hectare solar farm will be connected to the national grid and will generate enough electricity to power 1,200 homes over a 25-year period. Following a number of pre-planning meetings with the local authority, Terra Solar will lodge its first planning application to develop a solar farm at its Ballymorris site in the coming weeks. The company has selected six sites that all share certain common characteristics and have applied in each case for grid connection to ESB Networks. Requiring an investment of €5 million apiece, the six sites in the Shannon area will provide enough electricity to …
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