Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway County Council has approved a plan for the construction of a major solar energy farm in the Tuam area.
The proposal is led by Tuam Energy Park Ltd and is to be located at Cloontra, Rinkippen, Cloonascragh, Barnacurragh and Ballykeaghra on the outskirts of Tuam town.
The development sets out to provide over 62 hectares of photovoltaic panels on ground mounted frames, 20 single storey MV substations and three single storey customer substations.
County planners have attached 16 conditions.
The permission is for a period of 25 years from the commissioning of the solar array.
Another condition states the permission is not to be construed as any form of consent or agreement to a connection to the national grid or to the routing or nature of any such connection.
A number of requirements are also set out to safeguard the continued operation of an Iarnrod Eireann railway line.
It's also stated that in the event that the proposed solar PV panels are causing glare for road users, measures are to be introduced to minimise the impact.
