There is now widespread recognition that Northern Ireland, and the rest of the world, is in a climate emergency. Renewable energy has a significant part to play in meeting Northern Ireland’s Climate Bill targets to meet at least 80% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2030.

Our current power system still relies heavily on fossil fuels, such as gas. The volatile price of these is the reason that bills have increased so rapidly in recent months. The need to rapidly scale up home grown energy has become even more urgent.

Solar is a free and inexhaustible resource which has an important role to play as part of a balanced energy mix. Large scale solar, alongside other renewable technologies, is now the cheapest source of electricity generation¹ making solar development not only beneficial for the environment but also for bill payers. If consented, Magheralin Solar Farm would be capable of producing clean, green electricity for approximately 13,600² homes every year.

The solar farm has been specifically designed to be dual-purpose combining dual use on site of renewable clean, green energy creation and retained agricultural use through sheep grazing during the entire operational period. Sheep farming provides employment, supports rural economies and can produce a much more diverse ecological mosaic across the site. Landscapes managed by grazing sheep support a rich diversity of wildlife, while producing food.

Furthermore, where a solar farm is installed on land which has been intensively farmed, it enables the ground underneath to recover, while providing income for the farming business. Solar farms also help regenerate soil quality, and so are helping to ensure the continued availability of high-quality agricultural acreage for future generations.

A comprehensive Landscape Planting Plan accompanies the planning application setting out measures to include enhancement of existing and new native woodland and hedgerow planting. As well as reducing potential visibility of the solar farm, these measures can increase biodiversity by providing wildlife corridors and vital resources for mammals, birds, and insect species.

The solar farm could deliver direct benefit to the area - generating jobs during construction and decommissioning. Inward investment can be significant as a range of services will be required including haulage, on-site welfare facilities, refuse and recycling facilities, transport and local accommodation for construction workers. In addition, the solar farm would deliver business rates annually for the life of the project, helping to fund vital local services for all local residents.

If, having read the above, you would like to support the project, or submit any kind of representation, you can do so by submitting a comment online via the Northern Ireland Planning Portal. The planning reference is LA08/2024/0259/F and should be included in all correspondence.

^{1 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6556027d046ed400148b99fe/electricity-generation-costs-2023.pdf}

^{2 The homes figure has been calculated by taking the predicted average annual electricity generation of the site and dividing this by the annual average electricity figures from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) showing that the annual UK average domestic household consumption is 3,748 kWh (Dec 2021).}