County council approves 25-acre solar farm outside West Cork village
Planning permission has been given for a 25-acre site in West Cork.
Amarenco Solar, which is headquartered in Cork, got planning approval from Cork County Council for a 5MW solar farm just outside Ballineen village, Co. Cork.
It is expected to generate around 5.6 million units (kWhrs) of electricity per annum and will comprise of around 22,000 photovoltaic panels on ground-mounted frames with the capacity to provide power for around 1,330 homes.
It is the eleventh solar farm that the firm will have in Ireland, all in Counties Cork and Waterford.
John Mullins, CEO of Amarenco Solar, said: “The application approval by Cork County Council is very welcome news on the back of numerous successful and ongoing applications being prepared by Amarenco Solar for Ireland.
“However, we are still awaiting a decision on renewable tariffs and hope the Government will soon follow the lead of all other EU countries.
"Our solar plants can be built within three months of commencement, allowing us to keep taxpayers’ money at home, in place of paying hefty fines for carbon emissions from 2020 onwards.”
