Planning granted for solar farm the size of 192 football pitches in Carlow

Ballyloo Solar Farms have been granted planning permission for three connected solar farm developments with a combined total area of 322 hectares, located just outside Carlow town. 

The development will stretch over the townlands of Ballybannon, Ballybar, Ballycarney, Ballyloo, Cloghna, Linkardstown, Garryhundon, Park, Ballyra and Tinryland.

One local objector wrote that the combined area of the development “is proposed to be 474 acres or 192 hectares - this equates to approx 192 football fields within a four / five mile radius in our local community”. 

A number of the submissions lodged wrote that the large-scale industrial project would change the character of the area. 

Several of the observations also disagreed with the repurposing of agricultural land for the solar farm development.

Another objection took issue with the way in which planning was applied for by Ballyloo Solar Farm Limited, writing: “It is deeply concerning that the developer appears to have intentionally waited until the Appeal to An Bord Pleanála for the first phase of the solar farm was concluded before submitting the application for this third phase.”

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Carlow County Council previously refused one of the three planning permission applications made by the solar farm on the grounds that the sizeable development did not align with the Carlow County Development Plan.

This decision was then overruled by An Bord Pleanála, who granted permission for the development with conditions to help meet Ireland’s climate targets. 

The submission continued: “This strategy gives the impression of an attempt to fragment the application process in order to downplay the overall scale and cumulative impact of the development. This piecemeal approach misleads decision makers and the public, and undermines the integrity and transparency of the planning system.”

The solar farm has been granted planning permission for the next ten years.

The operational lifespan of Ballyloo solar panels is set to be for the next 40 years.