Planning sought for solar farm over 368 acres near Kilberry Previous Next Noelle Finegan Published: Wed 8 Oct 2025, 7:59 PM
An information meeting for residents concerned about plans for a large scale solar farm in the Kilberry/Rathkenny area will take place in Rathkenny Community Centre on Saturday 11th October.
SIMPL - Stop Industrialising Meath Pasture Lands - is a residents group formed in recent weeks following news that a 368 acre solar farm is planned for lands across several townlands in the Kilberry and Rathkenny area including Chamberstown, Scottstown, Shalvanstown, Mullagha, Rathcoon and Corballis.
The group will hold an information meeting from 3pm-6pm on Saturday following the lodging of a planning application by Circal Oak Solar Limited seeking a 10-year planning permission for the development of a solar farm over 149 hectares. If approved, the solar farm would be operational for 40 years and the planning application also includes its subsequent decommissioning.
The proposal includes the construction and operation of up to 559,033 square metres of solar PV arrays on ground-mounted metal frames with a maximum overall height of up to 2.96m, together with internal underground trenching, electrical cabling and ducting between the solar PV arrays and electrical invertor/transformer skid units; up to 21 electrical inverter/transformer skid units.
It also includes construction and operational access to the site via three site entrances using two existing field access points and one new access point.
Permission is also sought for a temporary construction compound and ancillary facilities for the construction phase, a single storey substation control building of 217 square metres, 33kV collector cable network, internal access tracks, site landscaping and drainage works, security fencing, and CCTV.
Local residents have a number of concerns including the suitability of the proposed lands, the loss of prime agricultural lands to solar, the impact on biodiversity and the fact that there are already a number of solar farms either granted or in the planning process in the general area.
In a statement SIMPL said: "This industrial development will remove this prime land from meaningful agricultural use for the next 40 years. Currently within the proposed area is an organic farm holding and separately on another farm, a nature reserve. This area is the natural habitat of a local deer population, several badger sets, buzzards, pine martins, hares and is bursting with other wildlife and an abundance of biodiversity thanks to the great work done by local farmers.
"SIMPL-Stop Industrialising Meath Pasture Lands- was set up by a group of residents with an ambition to highlight and prevent further disruption of our locality and surrounding communities.
"The size and scale of this development and the fact it is just one of a several in size and scale projects either making their way through planning, already granted planning or indeed already built, regrettably will change this historic part of the country for generations to come."
SIMPL has pointed out that planning is already in place for the 122 acre Gorman Solar Farm at Graigs and Rathcoon, just 4km away with planning also granted for the 240-acre Mill Farm Solar Farm at Killary and Lobinstown, 7km away. The proposed 405 acre Fyanstown Solar Farm, which is 12km, is currently still in the planning system with further information sought by Meath County Council in February.
"These along with dozens of other projects either built/granted or making their way through planning from Duleek to Kilbride and Oldcastle to Stamullen, I think we can safely say, we have reached saturation point," a spokesperson for SIMPL said.
"The companies will quote our climate action plan targets for 2030 in relation to renewable energy but are less keen to talk about our climate action plan targets for 2030 in relation to land under crops. We have signed up to having 400,000 hectares under tillage as part of the food vision programme but are falling nearly 40,000 hectares short and yet still removing prime agricultural land."
The group says they are not against solar as a renewable form of energy in the right area but feel Meath has reached saturation point and they want to see a coherent national policy at government level in relation to solar energy.
The public information meeting will take place in Rathkenny Community Centre from 3pm to 6pm on Saturday 11th October.
Noelle Finegan Published: Wed 8 Oct 2025, 7:59 PM