Over 10,500ac of solar farms and 35 new wind farms have successfully secured Government funding, according to a new analysis from the Irish Farmers Journal.

A total of 169 wind and solar projects secured funding from the Government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) which was launched in 2019.

The solar farms are located in 19 counties and cover an area equal to 0.01% of Ireland’s utilised agricultural area.

Cork has the highest number of successful projects, totalling 26 solar farms or around 1,260ac worth of panels.

This is closely followed by Wexford with 17 solar farms at 1,000ac. Kildare, Meath and Tipperary are in joint third position with 12 successful projects. However, Meath represents the largest area of panels, at nearly 1,800ac due to a number of large developments.

The 35 wind projects are spread across 15 counties, with Mayo set to see six new wind farms and Donegal set to see five.

Many of these projects, in particular wind farms, are owned by semi-State bodies while a number of these are community projects.

Rent

The solar farms are set to deliver over €10m in rent to land owners annually.

Land owners who accommodate the development of wind farms could expect anywhere from €20,000 to €60,000 per year per turbine.

In addition, RESS-funded projects must pay into local community funds each year, estimated to be worth over €10m per annum.

English ban

Meanwhile, in England, UK prime minister Liz Truss is set to introduce a ban on solar farms in England.

It is understood that Ranil Jayawardena, the British environment secretary, has asked officials to extend the definition of “best and most versatile” land to include the agricultural land that most solar farms are built on. The proposed changes could mean that solar projects would be banned from about 40% of land in England.