Kilkenny City and County Development Plan 2021–2027

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   Chapter 10 Infrastructure & Environment Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 192 and heat the city and its buildings. This concept applies not only to cities but also to the rural areas. However, the successful implementation of this concept is very much reliant on access to broadband, fibre technologies, wireless networks and associated infrastructure. The RSES has the following objectives in this regard: (RPO 134) a. to extend such initiatives (Smart cities/region) to towns, villages and rural areas to support a Smart Region. b. To seek investment in broadband, fibre technologies, wireless networks (including an Internet of Things Network across the Region) and integrated digital infrastructures to enable actions that sustainably deliver on smart technologies to increase the innovative, sustainable and competitive placemaking dividend for the Southern Region. 10.4.1.2 Broadband National Broadband Plan The NPF has the following objective for the rollout of broadband (NPO 24): “Support and facilitate delivery of the National Broadband Plan as a means of developing further opportunities for enterprise, employment, education, innovation and skills development for those who live and work in rural areas”. The RSES has a specific objective to seek to expedite the implementation of the National Broadband Plan11. The National Broadband Plan (NBP), part funded by the Irish Government and the European Regional Development Fund, is the Government's plan to deliver high speed broadband services to all businesses, farms and households in Ireland, providing broadband to underserved areas where the market has failed due to factors such as low population density and ensuring that people living and working in rural areas have the same digital opportunities as those in urban areas. The targets of the NBP includes: • 70Mbps - 100Mbps available to at least 50% of the population with a majority having access to 100Mbps • At least 40Mbps, and in many cases much faster speeds, to at least a further 20% of the population and potentially as much as 35% around smaller towns and villages • A minimum of 30Mbps available to all, no matter how rural and remote. Some of County Kilkenny’s towns suffer from broadband deficiencies, which are detrimental to their economic growth. The Council will work towards remedying this, through facilitating the implementation of the National Broadband Plan. The Council will facilitate the delivery of the National Broadband Plan in accordance with National and Regional policy to: • Promote the attractiveness of smaller settlements and rural areas generally for economic development, both indigenous and FDI; • Facilitate more flexible working arrangements such as working from home; • Reduce social isolation. 11 RSES page 158

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   Chapter 10 Infrastructure & Environment Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 193 10.4.1.3 Metropolitan Area Networks The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is a network of ducting and fibre optic cable laid within a metropolitan area which can be used by a variety of businesses and organisations to provide services including, but not limited to, telecoms, Internet access, television, telematics and CCTV. The MANs are publicly owned, while allowing all telecommunication operators open access to the networks. They are fibre-based and technology neutral resilient networks, which will ensure adequate capacity for generations to come. To date, Kilkenny City, and Thomastown have been included in the MANs. 10.4.1.4 Telecommunications Antennae The Council recognises the importance of a high-quality telecommunications service and will seek to achieve a balance between facilitating the provision of telecommunications services in the interests of social and economic progress and sustaining residential amenities and environmental quality. Broadband Development Management Requirements: • All new developments and all refurbishments and urban renewal projects shall, at planning and design stage, show how they will provide for the installation sufficient of carrier neutral ducting for fibre-based data services and incorporate unobtrusive carrier neutral antennae where feasible to facilitate future co- location of services and accommodate multifunctional technologies in the rollout of high-speed broadband and the internet of everything; • All new significant public infrastructure works such as roads, water and sewerage shall provide carrier neutral ducting where feasible. • Ensure the provision for development in connection with telecommunications is made in ways which will maximise the use of existing masts and sites so as to limit the impact of development. Telecommunications Antennae Development Management Requirements: When considering proposals for telecommunications masts, antennae and ancillary equipment, it is the policy of the Council to have regard to the following: a) the visual impact of the proposed equipment and access infrastructure on the natural or built environment, particularly in areas of heritage value (See Chapter 9 Heritage); b) the potential for co-location of equipment on existing masts; and c) Telecommunications Antennae and Support Structures - Guidelines for Planning Authorities and Circular Letter PL 07/12. Objectives 10I To support and facilitate the delivery of high capacity Information Communications Technology Infrastructure, broadband connectivity and digital broadcasting, throughout the County, in order to ensure economic competitiveness for the enterprise and commercial sectors and in enabling more flexible work practices e.g. remote working subject to other relevant policies and objectives of the Plan. 10J To set up and maintain a register of approved telecommunications structures which will provide a useful input to the assessment of future telecommunications developments and would also be useful from the point of view of maximising the potential for future mast sharing and co-location.

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   Chapter 10 Infrastructure & Environment Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 194 The Council will discourage proposals for telecommunications masts, antennae and ancillary equipment in the following locations, save in exceptional circumstances where it can be established that there would be no negative impact on the surrounding area and that no other location can be identified which would provide adequate telecommunication cover: i. Highly scenic areas or areas specified as such in the landscape character assessment, such as Mount Brandon and the River Valleys or the areas identified in Section 9.3.1.1 Archaeological Landscapes; in such cases the developer shall demonstrate an overriding technical need for the equipment which cannot be met by sharing of existing authorised equipment in the areas and the equipment is of a scale and is sited, deigned and landscaped in a manner which minimises adverse visual impacts. ii. In close proximity to schools, churches, crèches, community buildings, other public and amenity/conservation areas; and, iii. In close proximity to residential areas. In the assessment of individual proposals, the Council will also take the impact on rights of way and walking routes into account. To avoid proliferation of structures, which could be injurious to visual amenities, it is the Council’s preferred approach that all support structures will meet the co-location clustering policy of the current guidelines for antennae. The Council will require documentary evidence as to the non-availability of this option in proposals for new structures. The shared use of existing structures will be required where the numbers of masts located in any single area is considered to have an excessive concentration. Proposals within the county for telecommunications antennae and support structures must show: a) the alternative sites considered and why the alternatives were unsuitable, b) the number of existing masts within the County, c) the long-term plans of the developer in the County and the potential for further masts, d) and the plans of other promoters and any prior consultations which the developer may have had with other mast owners. e) all technology shall comply with the strictest environmental quality requirements, including the latest International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) guidelines and mitigate adequately against the potential to impact negatively on human health and wellbeing.

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 195 11 Renewable Energy Strategic Aim: To generate 100% of electricity demand for the County through renewables by 2030 by promoting and facilitating all forms of renewable energies and energy efficiency improvements in a sustainable manner as a response to climate change in suitable locations having due regard to natural and built heritage, biodiversity and residential amenities. 11.1 Introduction Kilkenny County Council is a signatory to the Covenant of Mayors – a European cooperation movement involving Regional and Local Authorities which is aimed at increasing energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy. Renewable energy sources are defined here as inexhaustible natural resources which occur naturally and repeatedly in the environment. These sources include the wind, solar, oceans, bio (plant life) and falling water. Kilkenny County Council has also signed up to the Climate Action Charter for Local Authorities1 which commits the local government sector to a range of measures including: delivering a 50% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 (compared to the 2009 baseline); exercising planning and regulatory roles to help improve climate outcomes in the wider community and beyond the public sector, by developing and implementing robust evidenced based policy and standards on climate action, through appropriate and relevant adaptation and mitigation measures. Kilkenny County Council has also recently joined the European Climate Alliance (in September, 2020), which among other things commits the Council to reduce CO2 emissions by 10 percent every 5 years, equivalent to the halving of per capita emissions by 2030 (from a 1990 baseline). Ireland and Kilkenny have excellent renewable energy (RE) resources, which will be a critical and growing component of Irish energy supply to 2020 and beyond. Indigenous renewable energy already plays a vital role in our domestic fuel mix. It also increases sustainability through the use of clean power sources and enhances energy security by reducing Ireland’s dependence on imported fuels. Ireland has established an ambitious and challenging target of increasing reliance on renewables from 12.8% to 34.1% by 2030, 70% of which is renewable electricity. Kilkenny County Council passed a Sustainable Energy Action Plan in January 2017 and are monitoring and reporting this through 3 Counties Energy Agency every 2 years on www.energyhub.ie From data collected, CO2 emissions values for Kilkenny began moving off the 2020 trajectory as we moved out of recession period earlier in the last decade. 1 Climate Action Charter for Local Authorities, countersigned by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment on behalf of Government 2019

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 196 Figure 11.1 Projected and Actual Carbon Dioxide Emissions for Kilkenny 2006-2016 Based on the 2017 data oil remains the highest source of energy for County Kilkenny at 56.82%, followed by electricity at 19.85%. Transport, which is primarily fossil fuel based, consumes approximately 37.8% of energy, with residential use slightly behind at 36.26% of energy use. Figure 11.2 Energy Consumption Kilkenny 2017 Figure 11.3 Energy Consumption Kilkenny 2017 By Fuel type By Sector This chapter outlines the mechanisms to support the increased development of renewable energy production county wide and across communities and citizens in accordance with the EU Renewable Energy Directive 2018/2001/EU.

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 197 11.1.1 National Renewable Energy Targets Table 11.1: Trajectories for renewable heating and cooling, electricity and transport2 Renewable Energy Share (RES) Percentage Share by 2020 Percentage Share by 2030 Percentage Share by 2040 RES Heating & Cooling 7.8% 24% 26.7% RES Electricity 36.5% 70% 69.1% RES Transport 5.8% 13.4% 17.8% Overall RES Share 12.8% 34.1% 40.2% It is the policy of this Plan to: • Support the implementation of the NECP (National Energy & Climate Plan (NECP) 2021-2030 https://www.dccae.gov.ie/en-ie/energy/publications/Pages/National-Energy--Climate-Plan- (NECP)-2021-2030.aspx ) and associated adaptation & mitigation measures • Support the implementation of Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future • Support the implementation of the All of Government Climate Action Plan (CAP) and associated adaptation and mitigation measures • Support the sustainable development, maintenance and upgrading of electricity and gas network grid infrastructure to integrate a renewable energy sources and ensure our national and regional energy system remains safe, secure and ready to meet increased demand as the regional economy grows. • Support the sustainable development of renewable solar photovoltaic energy at appropriate locations and related grid infrastructure in the region in conjunction with the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). • Support alternative forms of renewable energy for the electricity, heat, and transport sectors • Support the integration of indigenous renewable (Non fossil) Compressed Gas, either by local virtual pipelines or grid injection into existing or future Fossil Gas Lines. Due to the ambitious targets set out by the Irish Government for renewables, this City and County Development Plan sets out a Renewable Energy Strategy here, taking into account the ever-changing landscape and the demand for renewable energy supply. In this chapter the policy context for all renewables is outlined. This includes an analysis of each type of renewable energy within the county, covering three aspects as follows: • An analysis of the resource potential, • An outline of development management guidelines including potential impacts and • Objectives and policies for their future development. 2 Table 5 – DCCAE National Energy & Climate Plan 2021 – 2030

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 198 11.2 Three Counties Energy Agency (3CEA) The 3 Counties Energy Agency was established to provide independent and sustainable energy information, support and services to the people of Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford, to local businesses and community groups and to their Core Local Authorities. The 3CEA has extensive experience in supporting energy efficient and renewable energy projects for public and private actors, in particular for community developments. The 3CEA has the following Strategic Goals: • Energy Efficiency • Clean Energy (Increase Renewable Energy production locally) • Empowered Citizens • Sustainability 11.3 Policy context As a signatory to the Paris Agreement, the Irish Government has committed to a decarbonisation pathway to 2030 consistent with reaching the EU Target of Zero emissions by 2050. The EU key targets are; • At least 40% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels) • At least 32% share for renewable energy • At least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency Ireland’s targets include at least 40% reduction in domestic Green House Gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 and an increase to 27 percent in renewable energy consumption3. The Government’s Climate Action Plan sets out an ambitious course of action over the coming years to address climate disruption. The Plan clearly recognises that Ireland must significantly step up its commitments to reduce emissions and sets out targets per sector. In relation to onshore wind energy, the Plan estimates that in 2017 the total contribution of onshore wind was 3.3 GW. To meet the 3Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment website Objective 11A To support and facilitate the provision of energy in accordance with Ireland’s transition to a low carbon energy future by means of the maintenance and upgrading of electricity and gas network grid infrastructure and by integrating renewable energy sources and ensuring our national and regional energy system remains safe, secure and ready to meet increased demand as the regional economy grows over the period of the plan.

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 199 required level of emissions reduction, by 2030 the Plan aims to increase electricity generated from renewable sources to 70%, indicatively comprised of: • at least 3.5 GW of offshore renewable energy • up to 0.4 GW of grid-scale solar energy (NDP: 1.5 GW) • up to 8.2 GW total of increased onshore wind capacity The National Planning Framework (NPF) identified the importance of climate change in National Strategic Outcome (NSO) 8, which relates to ensuring a ‘Transition to a Low Carbon and Climate Resilient Society’. National Policy Objective 554 seeks to ‘Promote renewable energy use and generation at appropriate locations within the built and natural environment to meet national objectives towards achieving a low carbon economy by 2050’. Action no. 21 states as follows: Ensure that updated planning guidelines for onshore wind are published in 2019. These Guidelines are currently in draft. The Department of Communication, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) published in 2020 the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) 2021-2030 and a revised Renewable Electricity Policy Development Framework, intended to guide the development of large scale renewable electric projects on land. These plans, together with the Climate Action Plan 2019 are committed to a net zero carbon energy system for Ireland. The Climate Action Plan identifies how Ireland will achieve its 2030 targets for carbon emissions and puts the country on a trajectory to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The key objectives of the Climate Action Plan are as follows: • Increase renewables from 30% to 70% adding up to 8.2GW of renewable onshore wind energy capacity • Deliver the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) which will provide support for renewable electricity projects in Ireland through a series of scheduled, competitive auctions. • Put in place a coherent support scheme for micro-generation with a price for selling power to the grid for homes and businesses. • Open up opportunity for community participation in renewable generation as well as community gain arrangement; • Streamline the consent system, the connection arrangements and the funding support for the new technologies both onshore and off shore. 4 National Planning Framework p122

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   Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 200 11.4 Kilkenny Targets The 3 Counties Energy Agency (3CEA), covering the counties of Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford, have estimated that by 2030, County Kilkenny will use 633 Gigawatt hours (Gwh) of electricity. This equates to 253MW of energy, or 2.09% of the Country’s 12.1 GW combined onshore and offshore renewable energy target. 11.5 Wind energy The sun heats the earth unevenly, creating thermal air currents. To achieve equal temperatures around the earth these air pockets move about the earth as global wind. Energy that travels in the wind can be captured and converted to provide electricity through turbines. Turbines can be located onshore and offshore. The Minster published draft Wind Energy Development guidelines and although the draft Guidelines do not replace or amend the existing Wind Energy Development Guidelines 2006, they do include requirements for Local Authorities when considering policies relating to wind energy. All planning applications for wind energy developments shall be assessed against the DEHLG’s Wind Energy Development Guidelines, 2006, (and any revisions thereof) and the County Council’s Wind Strategy. The draft Guidelines state that the Development Plan is a critical part of translating overall national policy on energy, renewable energy and wind energy in a manner that supports the achievement of Ireland’s binding international obligations relating to climate change and renewable energy and taking account of local circumstances. It is a specific planning policy requirement under Section 28(1C) of the Act that, in making, reviewing, varying or amending a development plan, or a local area plan, with policies or objectives that relate to wind energy developments, the relevant planning authority shall carry out the following: (1) Ensure that overall national policy on renewable energy as contained in documents are acknowledged and documented in the relevant development plan or local area plan. Planning authorities shall, in particular, have regard to the following national plans, policies and strategies when making, reviewing, varying or amending development plan or local area plan policies or objectives that relate to renewable energy, and in particular, wind energy developments: • The National Renewable Energy Action Plan 2010 (Irish Government submission to the European Commission); Objective 11B To identify and designate a Decarbonation Zone (DZ) in the Council’s Climate Action Plan for a spatial area in which a range of climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity measures are developed to address local low carbon energy, greenhouse gas emissions and climate needs to contribute to national climate action.

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    Chapter 11 Renewable Energy Kilkenny City and County Development Plan Volume 1 201 • The Government’s Strategy for Renewable Energy 2012 – 2020 (DCENR); • The Government’s White Paper on Energy Policy - Ireland’s Transition to a Low Carbon Energy Future 2015-2030 (DCENR); and • The Government’s National Mitigation Plan, July 2017 (DCCAE). (2) Indicate how the implementation of the relevant development plan or local area plan over its effective period will contribute to realising overall national targets on renewable energy and climate change mitigation, and in particular wind energy production and the potential wind energy resource (in megawatts); and (3) Demonstrate detailed compliance with item number (2) above in any proposal by them to introduce or vary a mandatory setback distance or distances for wind turbines from specified land uses or classes of land use into their development plan or local area plan. Such a proposal shall be subject to environmental assessment requirements, for example under the SEA and Habitats Directives. It shall also be a material consideration in SEA, when considering likely significant effects on climatic factors, in addition to other factors such as landscape and air, if a mandatory setback or variation to a mandatory setback proposed by a planning authority in a development plan or local area plan would create a significant limitation or constraint on renewable energy projects, including wind turbines, within the administrative area of the plan. 11.5.1 Current Status and Targets Kilkenny currently has approx. 76 MW of installed wind energy, generated by 39 turbines. Renewable energy will be provided by a mix of renewable energies, in which solar is expected to play a significant role (see Section 11.6 Solar Energy).

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