Cheaper electricity would soften the blow

THEY may be an eyesore for some but people living beside proposed new ESB and Bord na Móna solar energy farms could benefit from cheaper electricity.

A Bord na Móna source said: ‘If it’s an issue that cheaper electricity for residents near these proposed sites would make it easier for them, then yes that’s something we’ll look at.’

Michael Rossiter, who appealed to An Bord Pleánala over a 26acre solar energy park in Ballycullane near Tintern Abbey in Co. Wexford, says the visual impact is one thing but also: ‘A couple of landowners are making a lot of money and the rest of us have to put up with it.’

Aoife Carlin who leads a residents’ action group in Kinsale Co. Cork, says: ‘Community sharing shouldn’t be the primary driver in determining sites… but that’s not to say communities shouldn’t benefit… after the site has gone through the rigours of the planning system’ which needs appropriate amending.