Locals in Galway have been urged to “get on board” with a proposed 94 acre solar farm and battery energy storage facility in the county. 

Planning permission for Ballymoneen Solar Farm in Cregmore, just outside Galway City, was granted in 2021 and could become operational this year. 

However, many locals remain devastated by the visual impact of the farm on the landscape. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Brendan Cronin, Chair of Abbeyknockmoy and Monivea Against Solar Sprawl, insisted he and his neighbours are “not anti-renewable”. 

“We want a clean energy strategy,” he said. 

“So, what we're fighting here is the imposition of unregulated industrial solar with massive battery installations beside homes, schools and farms with no safety standards, no emergency plans and no regulations.

“And this is our fundamental stand that we've been working on since June of last year.” 

An aerial view of a solar farm. Picture by: Alamy.com.

However, Mr Cronin continued that they also have concerns about the safety of solar power and explained why they feel their fears are well grounded. 

“If I could take you back to 13 months ago, there was a small but serious battery incident fire in Claregalway - Claregalway is approximately 20 minutes from Galway City,” he said. 

“And in that fire, there were up to 1,700 people evacuated from the area - school pupils, residences, businesses.” 

Also on the programme, economist David W Higgins said he believes locals’ concerns  “can be mitigated” and noted that solar power is a technology that is “picking up pace hugely across the world”.  

“China's output of solar panels has allowed them to become much cheaper - the cost has collapsed by about two thirds within the past decade,” he said. 

“And it's coming out as being the clear, cheaper energy option in a world. 

“So, this is a technology that I think we have to get on board with and we have to find a way to live with as opposed to opposing outright.” 

'Battery technology is only getting better'

Mr Higgins continued that the risks associated with renewable energy are significantly lower than the significant dangers posed by the use of fossil fuel. 

“When we burn fossil fuels, we get an absolute certainty of pollution to the air and the wider environment,” he explained. 

“But with the battery stuff - well, we need to get an assessment.

“So, how likely is a battery fire within the lifetime of any one of these units? I would rate it as being incredibly low; the battery technology is only getting better.” 

Mr Higgins added that he also believes locals’ worries about the visual impact of the farm can be assuaged. 

“I think if you compare it to the likes of a wind farm - which goes up to around 100 metres high - and there's been plenty of successful objections to those nationwide by that idea of a visual impact, three metres high,” he said. 

“This is a thing, again, that could be mitigated. 

“I'd be open to a system where if a big plant goes in, that developers would actually fund that to put in shrubbery and ways to actually mitigate the visual impact.” 

Ireland has committed itself to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030. 

However, experts have warned that the State is likely to miss the target and risks billions in fines by the European Union.

Main image: An aerial view of a solar far. Picture by: Alamy.com.