Laois wood pellet factory's plan for solar farm returned as invalid

Laois Sawmills Ltd who manufacture timber products and wood pellets for stoves, have had their planning application for a solar farm returned as invalid.

The company had submitted a detailed planning application to Laois County Council to build a farm of solar panels beside their plant in Portlaoise, beside the M7 motorway and N80 Stradbally road.

The solar electricity generated would be solely for use in their business. They say that the 2 hectare solar farm can replace up to nearly a quarter of their electricity usage. The site is bounded by agricultural fields and the roads.

Laois Sawmills has 70 employees on site. It has diversified from making timber products and garden furniture on site to also making renewable energy wood pellets for stoves. 

The pellets are made from their waste timber. The plant’s steam stack is a familiar sight in the sky over Portlaoise.

Laois Sawmills. Image GE2ti5

The solar farm's electricity will be used to reduce their carbon footprint. It is expected to generate 24% of their electricity use during the summer daytime, saving 14,889 kg of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

A planning report with the application says that "the proposed development is a major capital investment and is a commitment of the existing facility towards a sustainable future for the environment along with the business and its employees. The proposed development is arguably more sustainable than large scale solar farms due to its close proximity to the end user (300m) for the renewable energy generated".

They describe it as a "substantive move towards a sustainable future for the sawmill operation who have already invested significantly into up to date modern systems and equipment to streamline the processes carried out on site and reduce the carbon footprint of the business".

They say that a new fence and hedgerow will screen the solar farm from two of three receptors, and that the farm will not have a significant or adverse change to the environment or to the landscape.

On January 10, Laois County Council returned the application as invalid on one point; the co-ordinates on a site map are not legible. It it most likely to be resubmitted by the applicant. 

The application is to "construct, operate and the decommission of a photovoltaic solar farm over an area of 2 hectares comprising of photovoltaic panels on ground mounted frames, a switch room building, Perimeter fencing, hardcore access tracks with underground ducting routes, landscaping, new site entrance and access road to solar farm and existing sawmill facility, surface water drainage with underground attenuation tank, revision of existing site boundaries along with all associated ancillary development works.

A Natura Impact Statement was included with the application, which concludes that with mitigation, the solar farm will not significantly damage local habitats, and have no affect on protected habitats.