New solar farm could provide hundreds of thousands in rates

The Taduff Solar Farm in South Roscommon could net the council approximately €500,000 to €600,000 in commercial rates per year. 

The farm, which extends over 130 hectares, is scheduled to be fully operational by 2028, and its rates’ income will be linked with the amount of energy produced, a meeting of the Athlone Municipal District heard lst week.

A community benefit fund of approximately €180,000, which will be established once the project is operational, will be used to support local positive initiatives, and will run for 15 years.

While some initial works have been carried out, construction on the massive solar farm is scheduled to commence at the end of this month, on the site’s entrance, infrastructure and internal access tracks. The solar panels themselves are due to be installed in September of this year.

At a recent meeting of the Athlone Municipal District, a presentation on the Taduff Solar Park by EDF Power Solutions was given to councillors by James McDermot and David Clancy.

The presentation estimated that the local authority received €1.75 million from renewable energy sources, with the solar farm expected to contribute hundreds of thousands of additional euro a year.

The operational lifespan of the project is 30 years but the developers have land rights in place with the owners for 40 years. There are currently no plans to expand the farm.

Cllr Laurence Fallon asked whether the rates would remain the same every year, or were linked to energy production.  He was informed that the rates would be linked to energy production, but the developers said they would revert to the councillors on how the rates would be calculated with regards to energy yield. There would be a baseline for the rates, he was told.

* Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.