Shannon Airport. Photo: Stephen O’Malley
Shannon Airport is set to become home to Ireland’s first solar farm to be located within an airfield.
It follows Clare County Council granting planning permission to the Shannon Airport Group for the installation of a 1.2MW photovoltaic solar farm on a 5.5-acre site within the airfield at Shannon Airport.
When complete and operating at full capacity, the solar farm is intended to provide up to 15-20pc of the airport’s current electrical demand from renewable energy.
No objections were lodged against the proposal.
The council granted planning permission after concluding that it would not seriously injure the visual amenities, the residential amenities or the ecology of the area, and would be acceptable in terms of traffic safety and aircraft safety.
According to the Shannon Airport Group, the project will also provide for below-ground electrical infrastructure from the solar array in the airfield back to the main airport terminal building, enabling the energy generated to be used directly on site.
The sustainable use of existing land is one of the key projects included in the group’s sustainability strategy, as it works towards its commitment of reaching its climate targets of a 51pc greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050.
Commenting on the permission, chief operating officer at the Shannon Airport Group, Ray O’Driscoll said: “We are pleased to be progressing to the next stage with our plans for the development of a solar farm at Shannon Airport.
“The strategic location of the solar farm within the airfield itself will allow the airport to decrease its reliance on energy from the national grid, decrease its use of fossil-fuels and increase its capacity for on-site renewable electricity generation.
“As we work towards our commitment of reaching net zero emissions by 2050, further use of renewable energy will be essential, and we remain committed to investing in smart and innovative infrastructure to ensure we can meet our energy efficiency targets,” he added.
The solar farm application is just one of five applications Shannon Airport Authority has lodged in recent months with the council.
The solar farm site lies adjacent to the airport’s Taxiway 12, and an engineering report by Tobin includes an area earmarked for potentially more solar farm development which is a multiple in size of the initial 5.5-acre site.