Final plans for large solar farm on outskirts of Kilkenny city

Plans to build a large solar energy development on farmland in county Kilkenny are back on the table.

Harmony Solar Kilkenny Limited applied to Kilkenny County Council last December for permission to build a solar farm on a 46-hectare site at Smithstown on the outskirts of the city.

However, the plans for the solar farm, which would be located close to Junction 11 on the M9 motorway, were delayed after council planners sought further information about the development.

The local authority requested more information regarding the entrance to the site and traffic management at the site.

Harmony Solar has since responded to these queries, which the council wukk exmaine before arriving at its decision.

The developers are seeking to create a new solar farm with 293,500m2 of solar photovoltaic panels on ground mounted steel frames, an electrical substation with an electrical control building, along with “an associated compound with fencing”.

The plans also call for the construction of inverter/transformer stations, underground power and communication cables and ducts, boundary security fencing, internal access tracks, as well as a new site entrance off the L6235 road.

If approved, the new farm will be connected to the 110KV substation in Kilkenny, located roughly five kilometres away.

The application is seeking a 10-year planning permission period and a license to operate the solar farm for 35 years.

A decision on whether the farm gets the go-ahead is expected from the council by the end of the month.