STUD farms in Co Kildare received some good news this week when the High Court quashed the decision of An Bord Pleanála to grant permission for the Dunnstown Battery Energy Storage Scheme [BESS].

Strategic Power Projects is seeking permission to cover well over one million square metres of land with solar panels. The areas affected are Brannockstown, Brownstown, Carnalway, Coghlanstown West, Corbally, Delamain, Dunnstown, Gaganstown, Greenhills, Harristown, Hillsborough, Moorhill and Rochestown.

The operational lifespan of the proposed solar farm will be 40 years.

The applicants also want to locate a battery energy storage facility in the area.

A report commissioned by Northern Ireland’s Health and Safety Authority found that any BESS container has the potential to catch fire and explode, even with mitigation measures.

At the time permission was granted for the project a leading breeder based in the area said: “These, literally hundreds of thousands of solar panels, at each location, generate enough noise to crack the external plasterwork on houses.

“It is contrary to every aspect of equine welfare for horses to be exposed to these levels of noise. It jeopardises both the health and safety of these very valuable thoroughbreds and their equally vulnerable and important handlers.”

However, the High Court has found that An Bord Pleanála failed to adequately engage with the submissions made to it concerning water supplies for firefighting submitted on behalf of the applicants, including the report of fire safety consultant Dr Paul Christensen. The Board also has to pay the the applicants’ High Court costs.

The developer has the option of remittal, where An Bord Pleanála reconsiders the appeal, and makes a new decision.

The original planning application for the BESS, which would be one of the largest in Europe if it was built, was refused by Kildare County Council in 2021. An Bord Pleanála overturned that in September 2022.