A public meeting is taking place in Tarbert tonight about what would be Ireland's largest solar farm, proposed for North Kerry.
Circal has applied to Kerry County Council for planning permission for a 286-hectare solar farm.
A group, concerned about the mooted solar farm, is holding a public meeting tonight at 7 o’clock (7pm) in Tarbert Community Centre.
Opponents claim the project would be too big for the area, and that it would lead to huge disruption during construction.
One of the organisers, Jerry Scanlon, argues it would remove 750 acres of agricultural land from the local economy:
Circa says it held a comprehensive public consultation which involved direct and indirect engagement with hundreds of local residents, as well as a public meeting attended by local residents and politicians to enable feedback on all aspects of the proposed development.
It says feedback from this consultation process was considered to inform the site design and environmental assessment.
The company says once operational, the project will have a maximum export capacity of 113MWac, with 174,000 megawatt hours of electricity exported to the national grid each year. That’s equivalent to the energy needs of 40,000 households, per year.
It says Tarmon Solar Farm will not just bring a clean and renewable energy source but will also bring benefits both to society and the environment, including a Community Benefit Fund to a value of €7.1 million approximately over the lifetime of the RESS scheme, local biodiversity enhancements and contributions to local services via significant annual rates payable to Kerry County Council.
