FuturEnergy Ireland has unveiled plans for a wind farm with the potential for co-located energy storage and solar capacity in County Cork.
The development, known as Carker FuturEnergy park and introduced to the community this week, is planned for a large area 9.5km southeast of Charleville and 5km north of Doneraile on the Cork-Limerick border.
The developer said that the planning application for the park is likely to be submitted to An Coimisiún Pleanála under the Strategic Infrastructure Development process, indicating a capacity of at least 50MW.
FuturEnergy Ireland, a joint venture between state-owned forestry business Coillte and ESB, will host a community engagement meeting next week in Mallow, and will begin comprehensive site studies in the coming months.
The developer is aiming to submit its planning application in 2027.
The proposed Carker site was chosen because of its high wind speeds and a network of forestry roads that can be used for project construction.
The area being surveyed by FuturEnergy Ireland is immediately adjacent to ESB’s 33.3MW Castlepook and Mitsubishi and Arjun’s 19MW Ballyhoura wind farms.
“The scale of the site is such that setback distances from houses are well in excess of national guidelines,” FuturEnergy Ireland wrote.
The project team has committed to a minimum setback of 800 metres between a habitable dwelling and a proposed turbine location.
Aoife McGovern, project developer, said: “We are very pleased to be bringing this project forward to the pre-planning phase.
“Together with our 1GW+ portfolio of projects, Carker will help to secure energy independence, reduce carbon emissions, and create a sustainable future for generations to come.”