Limerick Solar Farm Protest Group Forms
Here’s a summary of the article, broken down into key points:
* Proposed Solar farm: A large solar farm, called the Tarmon Solar Farm, is proposed to be built across townlands in Limerick (Ballycullane, Ballygoughlin, Kilmurry) and Kerry (East Shanaway, West Shanaway, tarmon East, Tarmonhill, Leitrim East, Barraougeen). It’s projected to power nearly 40,000 homes annually.
* local Opposition: Two community groups, Tarbert/Glin Says No, are actively opposing the development.They held a meeting attracting 70 people and are encouraging residents to submit objections before the October 24th deadline.
* Concerns Raised: The main concerns voiced by the opposition group (through spokesperson jerry Scanlon) are:
* Scale: The sheer size of the project is overwhelming for the area.
* Existing infrastructure: The area already has significant energy infrastructure (power plant,battery storage,oil reserve,wind farms,substations) and adding another substation seems counterproductive to carbon footprint reduction.
* Community Impact: The group feels the company is prioritizing land acquisition over considering the needs and impact on the local community.
* Company Response: Circal, the firm behind the project, states they conducted a comprehensive public consultation, including direct engagement with residents and a public meeting.
* Capacity: The project aims to supply up to 120MWac of ins (the article cuts off here).
Essentially, the article details a conflict between a renewable energy project and the concerns of the communities where it’s planned to be built. The locals aren’t necessarily against solar energy, but they believe this particular project is too large and doesn’t adequately consider the existing infrastructure and community impact.