title: "Suitable Utility Scale Onshore Solar PV Sites in Dublin"

date: 2021-08-10

categories:

- map

tags:

- Bokeh

layout: splash

read_time: false

This map of car ownership was created using data from the 2016 Census provided by the CSO

- Not within 5km of a large town or city - Dublin City Council administrative boundary taken as the city boundary, large town defined as town centres from the County Development Plan 2016 zoning maps

- Not within 2km of the perimeter of a small town - continuous and discontinuous urban fabric layers of high density were used to define the boundary of small town equivalent

- Not located in an environmentally sensitive area (e.g. SAC, SPA, NHA)

- Not located within woodland areas or within 200m of woodland areas

- Located in areas with optimal wind speeds (greater than 8m/s assuming a 75m hub height)

- Not within 500m of any residential area or within a minimum distance of four times the turbine height from any home - locations of individual homes were not known at the time of writing this report but potential to use the Council’s geodirectory data could be used to model this more accurately, if available.

{% include 2021-08-10-onshore-wind-sites.html %}

title: "Suitable Utility Scale Onshore Solar PV Sites in Dublin"

date: 2021-08-10

categories:

- map

tags:

- Bokeh

layout: splash

read_time: false

The selection of suitable sites, as seen in this map, are based upon a number of coniditions;

- Areas within 1km of grid infrastructure - shorter cable runs to this electrical infrastructure will reduce any extra cost or environmental impact associated with this connection

- Location where topography and visual screening could be used to mitigate the potential visual impact of the array - visual screening is highly site-specific and can be remedied with sensitive landscaping practices, therefore no site was deemed unsuitable due to poor screening or topography at this stage

- Areas with low biodiversity value - Codema has taken this to mean any areas which do not have a high biodiversity value (e.g. SPAs, SACs, NHAs and proposed NHAs as discussed in the Council’s Biodiversity Plan)

- Open spaces with minimal shading

- Areas that do not have a northward slope (slope with aspect within 45° of due north) of greater than 10° to the horizontal - Codema generated slope and aspect maps using a digital elevation model (DEM)

- Area not within 30m of woodland to avoid issues with shading and falling leaves or within 30m of road or rail to avoid dust and debris - this is a general assumption that can be adjusted for specific sites as part of a more detailed feasibility study.

- The typical minimum size for a viable industrial-scale PV farm is 5 MW. A farm of this size would require a land area of approximately 10 hectares - Codema removed any land parcel smaller than 10ha that are not directly adjacent to any other sites (which together would sum to 10ha)

- Areas not within 100m of existing roads or rail lines to avoid potential glint and glare concerns.

{% include 2021-08-10-onshore-usspv.html %}