Frequently asked questions

The land beneath the solar panels will remain available for use for sheep or other livestock which can pass under the panels. The lowest part of the panels is typically 0.7m above ground level which allows sufficient space for animals to pass. The land can also still be farmed in other ways, beekeeping for instance.

The only noise sources from solar farms are from inverter/transformer stations spread around the site. An independent noise consultant will analyse the noise emissions from these sources to ensure they are below regulatory limits. There is some noise from the onsite substation which is often required for a new solar farm. Again this noise will be assessed in detail as part of the planning application and will be below regulatory limits.

Harmony Solar enters into a 40 year lease with landowners and pays a competitive market rent per acre, per year index linked. Contact us to learn more.

Contact Harmony Solar directly or fill in our online enquiry form.

Traffic to and from the site will occur during the project’s construction. However, this traffic will be kept on the largest roads that are best placed to carry them.

The solar farm will be monitored remotely, with maintenance work approximately three times a year. This will have little impact to the existing public road network.

No.

Solar panels are primarily constructed from silicon, and the electronic components are fully encased, resulting in no risk of leakage or leaching of the panels over their lifetime. It is anticipated that when the time to decommission arrives, in line with the WEEE Directive and trends in waste management, the site operators will be required to ensure that used solar panels and all other electrical components will be recycled. The operators will, regardless, be obliged to dispose of panels using suitably licenced operators and facilities. It is considered that with properly managed facilities, there is no risk to health and safety from the materials used on the proposed solar farm.

Public concerns over inverters/transformers commonly refer to possible effects arising from Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) and Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Electro Magnetic Fields, often termed ELF-EMF (refers to EMF at less than 60 cycles-per-second – or 60 Hertz). We recognise that significant material on EMF and ELF-EMF is available online. However, the reliability of the sources varies dramatically, which can and does result in confusion and misinformation about the issue. We consider reliable sources of information on EMF and ELF-EMF to be the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The ESB, ESBN and EirGrid also provide detailed research on safety matters for associated electrical infrastructure.

EMF occurs naturally in our environment and even in our bodies as part of the normal functioning of our cardiac and nervous systems. All electric equipment, including televisions, mobile phones, and vacuum cleaners, also produce EMF. EMF levels, measured in microtesla (μT), are the highest closest to the source, and their level reduces very quickly with distance from the source. In a recent study of homes in the UK, most homes had average magnetic field levels in the range of 0.2μT to 0.4μT, which were attributed to low voltage sources (i.e., wiring, appliances and distribution circuits). For specific electrical equipment, such as a vacuum cleaner, the μT at 30cm from the machine can vary from 2 to 20 μT, while at a 1m distance, this falls to 0.13 to 2 μT. ICNIRP, the independent world expert on the subject, identifies safe levels of exposure to EMF as 100 μT.

EMF will be produced by the proposed inverter/transformer stations located around the solar farm. For individual inverter/transformer stations, levels lower than 0.4 μT at 30 metres from each station can be reasonably anticipated.

No.

Research funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) considered studies of property prices in several countries (United States, United Kingdom and Germany) that have significantly more ground mounted solar PV than Ireland. This did not identify any studies which concluded that proximity to solar farms has a negative impact on property prices.

This report states: “Having undertaken a comprehensive desk review, this research has identified no studies from the case study countries which indicate that proximity to USSPV negatively impacts on property prices”. This report can be located here.

In addition to this study, there are a number of An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP) Inspector’s reports which have not found any evidence of property devaluation as a result of solar farms when assessing residential amenity.

Hedges will be maintained similarly to how a road or other boundary would be maintained through targeted trimming at suitable times of the year. All cutting would be done in line with best practice and will not reduce the height and nature of the growth below that consented as part of the planning permission.

For each project, Harmony Solar will develop a landscape and visual impact assessment (LVIA) report as part of the planning application. As part of this, we will develop photomontages that will show viewpoints of the site both before and after the construction of the solar farm and will include the screening and planting proposed. This will ensure that sufficient screening is developed to protect visual amenities in the area.

Harmony Solar’s standard design includes a new fence, hedge and the planting of native species along the boundary of the solar farm. The fence will be located three metres inside the boundary hedge. These hedges are typically between three to six meters in height, and the fence is two metres in height. Landscape architects will design the hedges to screen the fence from outside the site.

No lighting is required within the site. CCTV cameras will be proposed throughout the site for security purposes and will be angled to cover inside the solar farm only.

Community Development Funds set up for RESS successful projects will be governed by rules set out by the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment.