Green light for solar farm project at Mayo airport

A significant green energy project at Ireland West Airport has received planning permission to proceed.

A 1.2MW solar farm is to be developed on its grounds at Kilgarriff, comprising over 2,500 PV panels, and providing more than 40% of the airport's annual electricity demands.

The .5030ha site is located within the Ireland West Knock Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).

It is a principle of the SDZ planning scheme to support and promote the development of a major renewable energy installation, as proposed.

The estimated duration of construction works for the project is eight months.

In landscape terms, it is located in an area which has low potential to create adverse impacts on the existing landscape character.

Integrating a solar PV farm into its infrastructure is a critical step in advancing the airport’s decarbonisation journey and achieving its long-term sustainability goals.

The surface of the panels will cover an area of approximately 2.25ha.