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Roscrea Pastoral Council applied to Tipperary County Council for permission to install 55 solar panels in an empty field behind St Cronan’s Church in the town.
The pastoral council are also planning on replacing the church’s existing oil boiler with a heat pump system in order to make it more efficient, according to planning files.
The project aims to reduce the church’s running costs, as well as reducing its impacts on the environment, planning documents show.
“At present the church is heated by an oil boiler and lit by electricity from the grid, both partly or entirely burning fossil fuel,” an agent acting on behalf of the pastoral council said.
“By installing a solar array of this scale in an empty piece of land which can generate electricity, will reduce, and at times eliminate the energy requirements of the church and may contribute feed in power to help supply the wider community.
“Further, in the longer term, once the installation costs are paid off, the installation will save the church money, and help sustain it into the future. These are all positive results and should be encouraged and applauded,” the agent added.
Under the plans, the solar panels won’t be visible from inside the church, agents said, but they will be visible from a number of places outside the church.
However, the agent said that the impacts of this can be mitigated by adding screening around them, so that the panels don’t stick out too much.
“The panels are in any case reversible, in that they can be removed and the field made good again. The arrays can be dismantled and are stood on concrete pads which can be dug out in the future if so required,” the agent explained.
“It is suggested that the impact due to the proposed panels is limited and acceptable.
“Suitable planting between the panels and the church, which can mean that they are almost entirely hidden from view,” they added.
Tipperary County Council planners are due to decide on the plans by November 9.