More than 14,000ac of solar farms applied for in 2024

Over 14,000ac worth of large-scale solar farms and small ground-mounted solar systems have been applied for around the country in 2024.

Planning permission for over 100 projects was sought over the course of the year, analysis by the Irish Farmers Journal shows.

This figure includes all land required for solar development, including panels, roads, substations and, in a number of cases, batteries.

The average size of a project was 145ac. However, removing projects less than 20ac in size, which would typically be developed by businesses aiming to use the power on-site, the average size of a project increases to 240ac. This size is more reflective of modern commercial solar farm projects. Forty-five projects were over 100ac in size, while 22 were over 300ac.

Hotspots

The midlands, Cork, Meath and Kildare continued as solar hotspots throughout 2024, with multiple new projects submitted for planning and approved.

However, Carlow, Louth, Kilkenny and Tipperary saw a notable increase in activity this year.

Large projects were also submitted in Kerry, Wexford, Galway, Mayo and Laois. Projects of varying sizes were applied for in every county, however.

Notable farms

Some notable solar farm projects this year include the 428ac Cadamstown Solar Farm and the 600ac Delamain Solar Farm, which won its appeal in August, in Kildare.

Lightsource BP is planning a 600ac solar farm in north Kerry, while multiple new projects have been lodged in Carlow, bringing the area to well over 1,000ac there.

GP Joule Ireland Ltd’s plan for its 506ac solar farm in Meath is currently in the appeals process.

While this analysis just accounts for projects in the planning stage, earlier this year, it was revealed that there are around 385 solar farm projects in various stages of development across the country, which could potentially be delivered this decade, according to the Irish Solar Energy Association (ISEA).

If all were developed, it would add a further 9.5GW in solar energy to the grid, surpassing our 2030 target of 8GW, potentially delivering €2.7bn investment to Ireland.

Leinster is set to see the largest number of solar projects, with 201 planned solar farms delivering 1.6GW. Around 27% of these will be located in Meath, which will remain the solar capital of Ireland. A further 151 projects are planned for Munster, with 27 planned for Connacht and 12 in Ulster.

Opposition

As reported earlier this year in the Irish Farmers Journal, as more solar farms are built and become visible across the landscape, awareness among communities of what these projects entail is increasing.

With ever-larger projects under development, anti-solar sentiment is growing.

This is evident by the volume of submissions and objections in many solar farm applications.

However, the success rate of solar farm planning applications remains very high, as does the success rate in the appeals process.