A Dublin-based energy company has this month submitted planning applications for two solar farm projects in Offaly - one at Durrow, outside Tullamore, and the other at Trascan and Clondoolusk, near Portarlington.

The developments are being planned by Elgin Energy Services Ltd, which is seeking a ten-year grant of planning approval for both projects, each of which would have "an operational period of 40 years."

The development in Durrow, which is in the townlands of Gormagh and Culleen, approximately 3.5km north of Tullamore, is the larger of the two proposals. It's for a solar farm and battery storage complex on a site of 83.5 hectares (206 acres).

A description of the development stated that it would include a single-storey on-site 38kV substation within a compound, two single storage containers, 45 battery storage containers within a compound, 40 inverter stations, ducting and underground cabling, perimeter fencing, mounted CCTV cameras and internal access tracks.

The planning application included letters of consent from three landowners at the development site, one of whom has an address at Culleen, Durrow, Tullamore, while the two others have addresses at Gormagh, Durrow, Tullamore.

Images submitted with the application, to give an indication of what the solar farm would look like when in place, included photomontages from the Silverbrook Crescent housing estate and from the R421 regional road at Arden, Tullamore.

Elgin Energy said it took part in pre-application consultations with Offaly County Council in 2017 and 2021, and that it engaged with the community by writing to "all nearby residents" in June of this year in order to inform them of its plans.

Offaly County Council previously granted permission to Elgin Energy Services Ltd in 2017 for a smaller, 17.7 hectare, solar farm approximately 50 metres to the west of the site of the current solar farm proposal.

The solar panels in the proposed development "will be a maximum of 3.2m tall and have clearance from the ground of at least 0.8m," the planning application stated.

The solar farm "will be unmanned during the operational phase and will be monitored remotely during its lifetime. Maintenance visits to the site will be as required but are typically one person in a van each month," the application also said.

The proposed solar farm development near Portarlington is within the Offaly county boundary in the townlands of Trascan and Cloondoolusk.The proposal there is for a solar farm on a 39.2 hectare (97 acre) site. The proposed works would include the laying of an underground cable in the public roadway for the purpose of connection to the electricity grid via an off-site substation.

In addition, 18 single-storey inverter stations are planned, along with two steel storage containers; palisade perimeter fencing 2.45m in height; double palisade security gates; a gravel access track and 20 on-site pole-mounted CCTV cameras.

A related application for a 110Kv substation and grid connection, to facilitate the export of power from the solar farm, would be submitted to An Bord Pleanála, the applicant said.

Last year An Bord Pleanála granted permission to Elgin Energy Services Ltd, with revised planning conditions, for a solar farm project on a 86.7 hectare (214 acre) site also in the townlands of Trascan and Cloondulusk, approximately 3.3km east of Portarlington and 3.6km west of Monasterevin.

A cover letter submitted on behalf of Elgin Energy stated that it had so far developed 21 solar energy projects "in Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales, providing the equivalent of 75,000 homes with clean energy.

"The company said it had obtained planning permission for a further 60 projects, just over one-third of which (23) were in Ireland. Construction of its first two Irish projects was scheduled to commence this year, Elgin Energy said.The two solar farm applications submitted this month are due to be decided upon by Offaly County Council in late September.