A Co Kildare stud farm owned by US billionaire John Malone has failed to stop contentious plans for a new power station from getting the green light.
this follows An Bord Pleanála granting planning permission for a 212 MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Dunnstown near Two Mile House in rural Co Kildare.
The appeal board determined that the proposed BESS “would not negatively impact the blood industry.”
An Bord Pleanála’s decision overturns a decision by Kildare County Council last year to refuse planning permission for the lithium ion storage facility after several of the country’s leading stud farms lodged objections against the proposal which is located 2 km south of Two Mile House and 5 km from Kilcullen.
Those who opposed the powerhouse included the Aga Khan’s Sallymount and Gilltown Studs, John Malone’s Castlemartin Stud, the Irish National Stud and the Irish Thoroughbred Horsebreeders’ Association.
In total, Kildare County Council received 171 third party submissions, with only one in support of the proposal.
Council refused planning permission after deeming the proposal premature as it required a 220kv power line and the fire safety aspects of the proposal had not been given sufficient consideration.
The claimant, Strategic Power Projects Ltd, told the appeal panel that there will be no impact on the stud industry as a result of the proposed development.
The BESS is to include 76 battery units to be contained in 76 units of shipping containers on agricultural land.
The case came to An Bord Pleanála after Strategic Power Projects Ltd appealed against Kildare Co Council’s refusal decision and after the operator of Mr Malone’s Castlemartin stud farm, Clementville Ltd argued that the reasons for the refusal did not go far enough.
MHL Collection, the largest landowner in the United States, owns a string of grand hotels here, including the five-star Powerscourt Hotel Resort and the Intercontinental in Dublin, while its Liberty Global owns Virgin Media Ireland.
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John Malone. Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
In Clementville Ltd’s appeal, Ann Mulcrone of Reid Associates argued that the proposed development and associated infrastructure “would be an incompatible development located at the heart of the equine industry in Kildare and would adversely impact the operation of Castlemartin Stud. Demesne”.
The calls said there were 20 major stud farms within 5km of Dunnstown, including the Aga Khan stud farms at Gilltown and Sallymount “home to one of the most important stallions, Sea the Stars”.
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Protest: Conor Maguire (centre) with other local residents at the entrance to a field in Dunnstown, Naas, Co Kildare, where a battery storage facility is proposed. Photo: Gerry Mooney
Ms Mulcrone claimed that investment in the equine industry in Co Kildare “is put at risk by the proposed development which would damage Kildare’s reputation as a safe and risk-free environment for breeding and training. valuable horses”.
Ms Mulcrone further said the value of the horses at Castlemartin ranged from moderate to extremely valuable and that horse purchases for 2016 and 2017 amounted to £3.5million.
Ms Mulcrone said: ‘This is part of an ongoing investment plan in the blood of Castlemartin. This would be seriously undermined and compromised by the proposed BESS investment.
However, the appeal board granted planning permission after concluding that the proposal “would not seriously impair the visual amenities of the area or have a significant adverse impact on the landscape… nor would it detract from nearby property value”.
The appeal board’s senior planning inspector, Hugh Mannion, concluded that the proposed development “has minimal ability to cause environmental impacts on the equine industry”.
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An example of a smaller battery energy storage plant similar to that planned for Dunnstown in County Kildare
According to the planning documentation on file, BESS units allow electrical energy to be stored when generation on the electrical grid exceeds consumption and electricity is returned to the grid when generation falls below consumption.
Such units can alleviate grid problems posed by wind farms when there is no wind and a planning report filed with the application states that the “environmentally friendly” BESS unit “increases reliability of the network”.
The report says the BESS is not only essential to achieving renewable energy targets “but also to achieving the wider goal of carbonizing the economy in Ireland”.
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