€5m solar farm plan for Beaulieu House estate
A state-of-the-art €5m solar farm, on 8.91 hectacres, is being planned for lands at historic Beaulieu House.
TEN year permission has been sought from Louth County Council for the development that will consist of the construction of a 5MWp solar farm at the Termonfeckin beauty spot.
It will have a maximum export capacity of 4MW comprising approximately 20,000 photovoltaic panels on ground mounted frames within a site area of 8.91 hectares . It can provide enough power for between 900 and 1,500 homes for an entire year.
There will be associated works, including four transformer stations, a substation, plus CCTV security cameras and 2m high perimeter security fencing.
Site access will be from the adjoining l6327 road to the west and the construction of a hardcore access road between the area of the photovoltaic panels and the site access.
A decision is expected by December 3. Dublin firm Power Capital are behind the project.
Beaulieu House stretches to 400 acres and it is believed that the development will be shielded from the main house and gardens.
The development in solar farms is seen as a less intrusive means of generating electricity than wind farms.
If successful, the new solar farm could take less than four months to install and will be operational in 2018.
The planning application includes a series of reports, including flood risk assessment, access report, noise impact, archaeological impact and glint assessment.