Clonea-Power solar farm gets approval

Following An Bord Pleanala inspection, planning permission has been granted for a 141 hectare solar farm in Clonea-Power.

The location of the farm spans the townlands of Bishopstown, Bridgetown, Ballyhest and Ballyneale.

The development has faced considerable backlash from locals, and numerous public meetings have taken place in the locality since the inception of the plans. An appeal was lodged against the decision, in May 2023, to grant planning permission to the development.

A total of 17 third party appeals were submitted by concerned locals, representatives of Clonea Power National School, Clonea GAA Club and Councillor Seanie Power. The plans subsequently went to An Bord Pleanala for inspection.

The now approved development consists of photovoltaic panels on ground, and mounted steel frames with associated cabling and ducting.

Twenty-eight single storey inverter stations with perimeter fencing, a permeable gravel access track and 49 onsite pole mounted CCTV cameras are also approved. Four site accesses will span the area with four security gates. A number of temporary construction measures will also be improved, including three temporary compounds and material storage areas, three temporary construction stage wheelwash systems, and six temporary storage containers. The period sought for the proposed development is 10 years, and it is requested by the developer that the operational period will be 40 years. Construction is expected to take from ten to twelve months to complete.

A spokesperson for the Clonea/Mothel Solar Farm Action Group commented this week; “Not the result we were hoping for, but we will continue to stop this development going ahead."

“Our next stage is to arrange a public meeting to inform everyone of the next steps. We have gone to our legal team who are now reviewing the details.

“We all need to be positive and push forward for what is right for our community”