Plans for large solar farm in Kilkenny appealed to An Bord Pleanála
Plans from Lightsource Renewable Energy Ireland Ltd seeking to develop a solar farm (for a period of ten years) on a c.103.64ha site in County Kilkenny have been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
The solar farm was planned to be built within the townlands of Castlegarden and Cloghscregg near Thomastown, County Kilkenny.
Kilkenny County Council approved the plans last month, subject to conditions, however the local authority's decision has now been appealed to the national planning body.
Original plans stated that the development is to consist of solar panels mounted on steel support structures, associated cabling and ducting, inverters, transformers, switchgear substations, auxiliary transformer, permanent storage container, monitoring houses, composting toilet, BESS customer substation, battery blocks, BESS inverters, BESS interface cabinets, BESS MV skids, temporary construction compounds, tracks, boundary security fencing and security gates, CCTV, landscaping and ancillary works.
It had been proposed that the development will be accessed from three separate access points. Site Access 1 will be a newly created access point of the L4205 and Site Access 2 and 3 will utilise two existing access points of an unnamed local road which runs along the northern boundary of the application site.
An Bord Pleanála is expected to make a final ruling on the application by March 22, 2024.