West Cork villagers urged to protest solar farm

West Cork villagers are being urged to lodge their objections to a proposed solar panel farm with a local lobby group which has launched a determined campaign against the initiative.

Anyone objecting to the proposed farm of up to 18 acres of solar panels on the outskirts of Enniskeane is asked to give their objections to the group of residents opposing the plan, and as quickly as possible.

“We are seeking submissions from local householders against the proposed solar farm. These objections will be collated into a formal objection which will then be submitted to Cork County Council,” said Donal Shorten, spokesman for the residents’ group.

He said time was of the essence as the formal objection to the plan had to be lodged with the local authority by October 25.

“We are seeking submissions from local people who are opposed to the farm, in terms of why they don’t want it in their locality,” he said, adding that locals could either email their reasons to [e-mail] or drop it into a public meeting next Monday night in the village.

“We want people to contact us as soon as possible,” said Mr Shorten.

At recent public meetings, locals voiced a wide variety of concerns from fears about noise levels to the impact of the solar farm on property values in the vicinity. Locals also want to know how energy from the solar farm at the Teadies Upper end of the village would potentially be transferred to the ESB sub-station some distance away.

The developers plan to install some 16,000 solar panels, a substation which will process and transfer energy and a number of ancillary buildings.