Baldwinstown solar farm granted planning permission

Planning permission for a twenty five million euro solar farm in South Wexford has in part been granted.

The matter had been appealed to An Bord Planala after initially being refused by Wexford County Council. The planning application for the solar farm was in two parts close to the village of Baldwinstown. The seventeen megawatt facility had been lodged by Harmony Solar and covered two seperate plots of land. An Bord Planala granted permission on the northern site consisting of twelve hectares which will now host an array of solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity. However a further twenty hectares in the plan was refused planning permission because according to An Bord Planala it would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area and also because of its proximity to Baldwinstown village. According to an An Bord Planala inspector given the sudden wave in applications to build solar farms there is still no national strategic plan for their development.