A public meeting is to be held next Wednesday, 7 August, to discuss proposals for a 327ac solar farm and battery storage system near Killerig and Straboe, Co Carlow.

The planning application for the project was submitted by the developer Lightsource Renewables in June, but further information and a resubmission are needed. If built, the 95MW solar farm will produce enough electricity for 26,400 homes each year.

The meeting is being organised by engineer Fergal McGrath, who said that this proposal is the fourth solar farm application in the local community, each covering over 200ac.

His main concern is that the solar farms are being developed on prime agricultural land, which he believes is contradictory to Carlow’s County Development Plan. The project involves 31 fields from four landowners.

Highest-quality land

In a previous objection to a proposed 190ac solar farm near Friarstown, Co Carlow, McGrath claimed that the land where the development was proposed has “some of the highest-quality land in the county/country and can produce 2-4t of grain per acre, depending on weather conditions”. The planning application was subsequently given the green light by the council and on appeal by An Bord Pleanála.

In an email to the Government, seen by the Irish Farmers Journal, McGrath said that Ireland needs a national policy on large-scale solar farms to protect prime agricultural land. Currently, Ireland does not have a land use policy in place, but has a target for 40,000ac of solar farms by 2030. The meeting will take place in Walshes, Killerig, Co Carlow, on 7 August, at 7.30pm.