Group formed to campaign against solar farm planned at Limerick border

A NEW group has been set up to campaign against plans to build a massive new solar farm along the Limerick-Kerry border.

Irish solar developer Circal is planning the project, 80% of which will take place on land in the Kingdom, the remainder across the border in Limerick.

If it proceeds, it will be known as the Tarmon Solar Farm, and will be built in the Limerick townlands of Ballycullane, Ballygoughlin and Kilmurry.

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On the Kerry side, it will include East Shanaway, West Shanaway, Tarmon East, Tarmonhill, Leitrim East, and Barraougeen.
The firm has said it will have the ability to power almost 40,000 homes each year.

Now, two of the communities impacted have come together and say they are doing what they can to block development.
Tarbert/Glin Says No held a meeting last week, which drew 70 people, who were all encouraged to register their opposition to the proposal by the closing date for objections on Friday, October 24.

Above: Aoibhín and Caoimhe Holly and Rosáleigh and Layla-Jayne Pledge, Tarbert

Jerry Scanlon, a spokesperson for the group said: “The biggest part of this is the sheer size of it. We have an awful lot of Infrastructure on our doorstep. Just in the parish of Tarbert alone, we have a power plant, two battery storage plants. We are home to the national iron reserve tank farm for the reserve of oil and diesel for the country. We have generating farms, wind farms, sub-power stations, and a cable between Tarbert and Moneypoint.”

Below: Anne McGrath, Katie McSweeney and Donie McGrath, Glin

Mr Scanlon questioned why the existing five sub-stations in the area will not be used for development.

“It begs the question - they are on about carbon footprint reduction and this being green energy. But what is the carbon footprint on building yet another energy substation,” he asked.

He insisted he is not opposed to solar farms outright.

“I think they are needed to meet our 2030 targets. But there is a very fine line these companies need to tread between a viable project and then the community and the people who live there. This company appears to be going to get as much land as they can. There appears to be no thought given to the community, and those who live in the community,” he said.

A spokesperson for Circal said the firm held a comprehensive public consultation on the plans.

This, they said, involved direct and indirect engagement with hundreds of local residents as well as a public meeting.

“Once operational, the project intends to supply up to 120MWac of installed solar capacity or 174,000 megawatt hours provided to the national grid each year. That’s equivalent to the energy needs of 40,000 households, per year,” they said.
Circal added that Tarmon Solar Farm will not just bring a clean and renewable energy source but will also bring benefits both to society and the environment, including a Community Benefit Fund to a value of €7.1m approximately over the lifetime of the scheme.”

Since the solar farm project straddles two counties, there are two separate planning applications with Kerry and Limerick councils respectively.