Planning permission has been granted for a large solar farm near Rahanisky on the outskirts of Cork City, despite strong opposition from some local residents.
An Bord Pleanála has upheld the decision of Cork County Council to approve the planning application by Harmony Solar Cork Limited to construct a solar farm on a 63.9-hectare site off the Old Whitechurch Road around 2km south of Whitechurch in the townlands of Rahanisky, Kileendaniel and Monard.
The planning permission for the solar farm is for a period of 10 years with the operational phase of the development listed as 40 years.
The board rejected an appeal by a number of locals who claimed their original submissions to the local authority about the project had been “completely ignored”. They expressed concern that the solar firm would impact on the delivery of the Monard Strategic Development Zone to create a new town in the area as well as inhibiting its future expansion.
“It does not make sense to put a solar farm right next to a special development zone which will have a huge visual impact on it and also could prevent it from expanding if it gets off the ground,” said one appellant. They claimed the solar farm would impact on the character of the landscape with the installation of an industrial facility.
The objectors also expressed concern about the impact from glint and glare from the solar panels on the proposed Monard Town Centre that would be constructed under the Monard SDZ and playing pitches near the site as well as posing a road safety hazard.
However, the developer claimed any glint towards Monard would mostly occur in the early morning between 6.30am and 8am and would total less than 100 minutes per annum at even the worst affected location. The company, which is a subsidiary of the renewable energy firm, Harmony Solar Ireland, said a glint and glare assessment had concluded that there would be no hazardous effects on the local road network.
It also claimed the opponents of the project had provided no evidence to support their claim that the development of the solar farm would negatively impact on the value of neighbouring properties.
The solar farm will consist of 330,200 square metres of solar photovoltaic panels and a 38kV electrical substation on a site that is currently mostly grassland with some farm buildings and a farmhouse.
The planning permission also provides for the installation of almost 4.5 kilometres of underground medium voltage electric cable which will link an onsite substation with a substation in Blackpool in Cork City. A separate concurrent application for the part of the cable within the administrative area of Cork City Council was approved in May.
In reaching its decision, An Bord Pleanála said it had taken into consideration the policies and objectives of the Cork County Development Plan 2022-2028 and the likely significant effects of the solar farm on the environment as well as the main grounds of the appeals and submissions of prescribed bodies.
Subject to compliance with a number of planning conditions, the board said the proposed development would be in accordance with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area. The conditions include a requirement for a revision of the layout of the solar farm to have a minimum 40-metre setback of solar panels from the roadside boundary to the west of the site.
It is expected the construction phase of the project will take approximately 12 months.
