2460196
a 10 year planning permission on lands including Straboe and Killerig, Carlow, Co. Carlow. The development will consist of permission for a Solar PV Energy Development with associated Battery Energy Storage System Compound with a total site area of c. 132.28ha, to include solar panels mounted on steel support structures, associated cabling and ducting, inverters, transformers, switchgear substations, auxiliary transformer, permanent storage containers, monitoring houses, composting toilet, BESS customer substation, battery blocks, BESS inverters and PCS (twin skid), BESS interface cabinets (BIC), backup generator, temporary construction compounds, tracks, boundary security fencing and security gates, CCTV, landscaping and ancillary works, with a 40year operational period. It is proposed that the Proposed Development will be accessed from four separate access points which will include (i) a new access created off the R726; (ii) a new entrance off Straboe Lane; (iii) a widened and improved existing entrance off Straboe lane; and (iv) use of an existing and previously consented entrance off the R418. A Natura Impact Statement (NIS) has been submitted to the Planning Authority with the Application
Core Refusal Reason
The proposed development was refused primarily due to its significant adverse landscape and visual impacts on a sensitive rural area and its failure to protect the historic character and setting of Duckett’s Grove, a Protected Structure of national importance.
Decision Maker's Conclusion
- The scale and nature of the solar farm would result in disproportionate and adverse landscape and visual impacts on the predominantly rural and agricultural landscape, failing to sustainably integrate into the area.
- The development would undermine and erode the historic setting and architectural significance of Duckett’s Grove, a Protected Structure and key tourism asset, materially contravening heritage protection policies.
- The applicant failed to satisfactorily address the cumulative impact of the proposal in conjunction with other permitted solar developments in the vicinity, leading to concerns regarding an over-concentration of such infrastructure.