Work to finally start on Cork solar farms in April
AMARENCO AIMS TO HAVE SIX SOLAR FARMS, INCLUDING ONES IN MALLOW AND KANTURK, OPERATIONAL BY AUGUST
THE chairman of Amarenco, the Corkbased company that has been granted planning permission for more than a dozen solar farms across Cork County has said he anticipated work will commence on the first of these within the next two months.
More than 150 containers are due to arrive in Cork from China over the coming weeks containing 120,000 solar panels that will be used in the development of eight of the proposed solar farms.
It is estimated it will cost in the region of €32 million to build the solar farms, which when operational will produce enough green power to supply 14,400 homes for a year.
John Mullins, the former Bord Gáis chief executive who co- founded Amarenco, said he expected work to begin on the sites before the end of April.
Six of those, including those in Mallow, Kanturk, Inniscarra, Whitechurch and two in Carrigaline are expected to be completed by August, with the remaining two in Cobh and Timoleague not becoming operational until 2022.
Permission was granted for the Mallow solar farm on a 35-acre site at Gortnacross in June 2016 and the Kanturk facility on a 30-acre site at Dromalour, Coolclogh, the following March.
Each will incorporate 22,200 photovoltaic panels on ground mounted frames, two inverter/transformer stations, a delivery station and associated
site works. Each will generate five mega-watts of green electricity, which will be fed back into the national grid.
While planning permissions has also been granted for solar farms on sites at Kill, St Anne North, Castleyons and Ballivarrig East/Deerpark, Castleyons, a time-frame for their construction has yet to be announced.
Mr Mullins said that each solar farm would employ up to 40 people during construction and would leave no carbon footprint.
“We hope to have six of them ready in August for connection to the national grid and we are currently involved in ongoing discussions with the ESB about that,” he said.
Amarenco is set to seek approval for about 30-mega watts worth of projects at the Government’s next Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction, which is to take place in April.
The scheme has been designed to diversify the State’s renewable energy production and enhance Ireland’s chances
of producing 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. The scheme has also been designed to ensure Ireland’s contribution to achieving an EU-wide target of 32% renewable energy by 2030.
This will be the second such auction managed by EirGrid, the first seeing 114 projects apply for support under RESS, with the scheme prioritising ‘shovel ready projects’. The auction awards successful projects capacity on the electricity network and a guaranteed price for the electricity they generate.
Amarenco has a total of 35 solar energy projects in the pipeline for Ireland, including locations in Cork, Waterford, Wexford and Clare.
The company also has assets in France and Iberia and is targeting development in other global locations including Oman, Thailand, Taiwan and Egypt.
SUCCESSIVE Transport Ministers have been slammed by a Cork TD for failing to address the ever-growing list of people waiting for an appointment to take their driving.
Cork East Sinn Féin TD Pat Buckley has called on the present incumbent, Eamon Ryan, to “take decisive action” to address the issue after it emerged there are 92,201 people on the waiting list across the State.
In Cork there are almost 10,000 on the list, 1,930 of those waiting for an appointment at the Mallow test centre. The figures showed 5,250 were waiting for an appointment at the Wilton test centre in Cork City, 776 in Ballincollig and almost 2,000 at other centres across the county.
Comparison figures for October of last year showed there were 6,671people across Cork waiting for a test, including 1,401 in Mallow, 4,056 in Wilton and 479 in Ballincollig.
Under the current Level 5 Covid restrictions only those deemed to be essential workers can attend a driving test appointment, meaning many applicants are effectively left in limbo until such a time as the restrictions are relaxed.
Deputy Buckley pointed out that the waiting list has increased by 70% since last summer, despite calls for Minister
Ryan and his predecessor Shane Ross to address the issue.
“Neither took the problem seriously and the situation has now greatly worsened. Some constituents are telling me they will be forced to wait months for a test date,” said Deputy Buckley.
He said that with public transport reduced to 25% capacity and car-sharing not possible due to Covid, the situation is causing “massive problems” for people who their a licence to get to work.
“It’s a huge issue for people living in rural areas, where public transport is simply not an option. The problem is particularly bad in Mallow, with 1,930 learner drivers waiting for a test there,” said Deputy Buckley.
He said it was clear there was an urgent need for additional instructors and testers combined longer opening hours at test centres and the introduction of weekend testing.
“The Minister needs to urgently consult with instructors, testers and their unions to find a way forward to accelerate the number of tests that can be carried out safely over the coming months,” said Deputy Buckley.
He pointed out the driver theory test, which is not deemed an essential service, is still suspended causing further delays for those learning to drive.
“The Driver Theory Test Service is currently providing remote theory tests for bus, truck, CPC and ADI categories. This is a welcome development, but it is essential this is now expanded to those learning to drive a car,” he said.
On a similar vein, East Labour TD Seán Sherlock has reiterated his call to fast-track remote testing for those applicants, pointing out there were 5,392 applicants in Cork alone awaiting a theory test appointment.
“The longer we go without clearing this backlog, the harder it will be long term. The majority of these people are young and given public transport capacity limits cannot be left to twist in the wind. We now need urgent intervention through remote testing from the Minister and the RSA,” he said