With the forthcoming implementation of the Irish RESS in 2019, renewable energy developers and utilities are seeking to position their projects to prepare for the competitive auction. Through ensuring that the early stage project planning and design conforms to the highest standards, thereby avoiding requests for further information that often result in project
delays, and successfully securing a prompt planning permission, Dulas has ensured its client is in a position to enter its project for early auction, and capitalize early on the swift commercial timeline.
The project would see 6MW of solar capacity installed on a site at which there were several challenging planning constraints, working within the Shannon Estuary Special Protection Area and local heritage features. Through considered solar farm design Dulas resolved the issues
and secured planning permission within the statutory decision period.
“As the Irish solar market gears up for tariff support in 2019, there is the demand for projects to be ‘right first time’ when they are submitted for planning,” said Michael Phillips, Principal Consultant, Dulas. “Without that, such is the pressure from competing projects and the limitations of the grid, it becomes very difficult to move forward to successful financial
close.”
“Having now worked on over 100MW of solar projects in Ireland, we’re aware of the key facets that can determine the success of a project in the planning phase and it’s that experience that we’re now seeing requested from our developer clients in the race to build shovel-ready projects country-wide.”
Dulas anticipates the project, if successful at auction, will see construction in late 2019.
