Cork County Council grants permission for solar farm at Fiddane, Cooliney Coolcaum, Co. Cork

In context

It is one of 51 solar farm applications Cork County Council has received in the past twelve months, against 329 nationally. Of the 570 such applications decided by councils in the past three years, 92% were granted.

What happens next

The applicant, or anyone who made a submission on the application, can appeal the decision to An Coimisiún Pleanála within four weeks of 1 July 2024. If no appeal is lodged, the council’s decision stands and a final grant issues. The applicant sought a 10-year permission, which sets how long they have to start the development.

The development description, as lodged

Verbatim from the Cork County Council register. This is the source for every figure in the story above.

The development will consist of an application for a 10-year planning permission for the construction of, and 40-year operation and subsequent decommissioning of, a development consisting of a 92.75-hectare solar farm and underground grid connection route (red line boundary). The underground grid connection route will run underneath private lands and L5527, L5528 and L5529 public roads for 1km where it will connect the proposed development to the previously consented electricity grid interconnector (Cork County Council Pl. Ref 22/5933). The solar farm comprises of four separate land parcels divided by local roads. The proposed solar farm will consist of a series of ground mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, mounted on steel support structures and in some areas concrete shoes to protect possible underground archaeological features, together with electrical transformation enclosures, underground cabling, temporary construction compounds, the use of existing farm access tracks, existing site entrances, widening of 1 No. existing site entrance, inverters, CCTV poles and cameras, deer type security/boundary fencing with some areas of boundary development on concrete shoes to further protect possible underground archaeological features, landscaping and biodiversity measures and all associated ancillary development works, for the purpose of generating renewable energy electricity and transmitting it. A Natura Impact Statement will also be submitted to the Planning authority with this application.