Conditional decision notified 21 August 2026 following May further information and July clarification. A final grant, appeal outcome, commencement or commissioning is not established by the inspected files.
The August notification is a decision, not a final grant
Conditional decision; final grant not established · Clare reference 2560670; October 2025 application revised in May and July 2026
What the evidence says
Clare’s notice dated 21 August 2026 records a decision to grant subject to four conditions. It expressly states that work is not authorised until a final grant issues. The conditions provide for a ten-year permission period and a 35-year operational period measured from a commissioning date to be established in writing. They do not establish that commissioning has occurred.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: separates a notified decision and its proposed operating period from final permission and actual operation.
What is not established
A final grant, appeal outcome, commencement and commissioning date have not been established.
Inspect the evidence
Booltiagh BESS amendment: conditional decision notice · p.4
NOT AUTHORISED · Issued 2026-08-21 · Four conditions; final grant expressly distinguished · Checked 2026-09-06
NOT AUTHORISED
Booltiagh BESS amendment: conditional decision notice · p.2
35 years · Issued 2026-08-21 · Four conditions; final grant expressly distinguished · Checked 2026-09-06
35 years
The BESS amendment has 32 arrays and eight skids
Conditional decision; final grant not established · BESS amendment to permission 23/60414; distinct from substation equipment and the operating wind farm
What the evidence says
The decision description retains 32 battery-array units with built-in inverters, replacing the previously permitted standalone inverter arrangement. The BESS scope also includes eight transformer/switchgear skids, a revised control/SCADA room, two auxiliary transformer units, one storage container and one standby generator with fuel tank. These are equipment quantities, not dwellings or confirmed purchases.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: identifies the storage-side equipment package without summing repeated equipment terms across separate compounds.
What is not established
Selected manufacturers, contracted quantities, installed equipment and final MW/MWh capacity are not established.
Inspect the evidence
Booltiagh BESS amendment: conditional decision notice · p.1
battery array units (32 nos.) · Issued 2026-08-21 · Four conditions; final grant expressly distinguished · Checked 2026-09-06
battery array units (32 nos.)
A 230 m, 20 kV link connects to the 110 kV substation
Conditional decision; final grant not established · Grid-interface works under 2560670; substation history 00/567 and 11/340 is context
What the evidence says
The decision describes a 230 m underground 20 kV interconnector from the BESS control/SCADA room to the existing 110 kV substation. The substation amendment separately replaces the grid transformer and associated circuit breaker, CT/VT, disconnector, earth switch and surge arrestors, with ancillary transformers, generator, trenching and security infrastructure. The operational wind farm is explicitly outside the proposed amendments.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: keeps the voltage levels and distinct storage/substation work packages connected without inventing an enlarged wind-farm project.
What is not established
Final equipment schedules, protection settings, grid energisation and construction contracts are not established.
Inspect the evidence
Booltiagh BESS amendment: conditional decision notice · p.1
230m long 20kV underground interconnector · Issued 2026-08-21 · Four conditions; final grant expressly distinguished · Checked 2026-09-06
230m long 20kV underground interconnector
The application report compares 240 earlier arrays with 32 larger units
Source wording clarified by the later decision; installation unverified · October 2025 design comparison and later August 2026 decision description
What the evidence says
The October addendum describes a change from 240 earlier battery arrays to 32 larger units, and from the previous transformer arrangement to eight skids. The August decision retains the 32-array/eight-skid description. This is a technology/layout revision, not 272 arrays and not a demonstrated change in total energy-storage capacity. An isolated sentence in the addendum says transformers are excluded, while its surrounding text and the later decision explicitly include transformer skids; that wording is not used to remove them from the package.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: preserves the actual revision and an internal wording inconsistency without silently correcting the source.
What is not established
Comparable MW/MWh ratings and final procurement quantities remain unverified.
Inspect the evidence
Booltiagh Environmental Report Addendum · p.11
240no. units · Issued October 2025 (month only) · D02 drafted 16 October, reviewed/approved 28 October; received 31 October · Checked 2026-09-06
240no. units
Booltiagh BESS amendment: conditional decision notice · p.1
8 no. MVA Skids · Issued 2026-08-21 · Four conditions; final grant expressly distinguished · Checked 2026-09-06
8 no. MVA Skids
The later report resolves the earlier dewatering question
Later planning assessment; executed groundworks not established · August report after the July clarification; peat handling within the amended BESS enclosure
What the evidence says
The August planning report records a stated 4,600 m³ of peat to be removed. Its assessment accepts the applicant’s clarification that no on-site dewatering is proposed and notes the receiving licence holders’ written consent. Earlier questions about dewatering and disposal are therefore presented as a resolved review issue, not as an outstanding design requirement or proof that excavation has happened.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: updates the groundworks position using the council’s later assessment.
What is not established
Actual excavation, transported quantities, waste acceptance records and site conditions have not been independently verified.
Inspect the evidence
Planning Application Report 3: July clarification assessment · p.6
4,600 m3 · Issued 2026-08-20 · Planner signed 19 August; senior endorsement dated 20 August · Checked 2026-09-06
4,600 m3
The temporary compound follows a separate exemption determination
Separate route recorded by the planner; no physical phase merge · Relationship described in the later planner assessment; the separate declaration document was not inspected
What the evidence says
The later planning report records that Clare issued a Section 5 declaration on 8 July 2026 for the temporary construction compound, reference R26/34. It also explains that the environmental screening considered the compound and the BESS amendment together. The compound’s planning route is separate; its inclusion in environmental assessment does not add another battery-storage phase.
Why it may matter — interpretation
Interpretation: distinguishes a separate consent route from the scope used for cumulative environmental assessment.
What is not established
The full Section 5 declaration and completed compound have not been independently inspected.
Inspect the evidence
Planning Application Report 3: July clarification assessment · p.6
temporary construction compound R26/34 · Issued 2026-08-20 · Planner signed 19 August; senior endorsement dated 20 August · Checked 2026-09-06
temporary construction compound R26/34
Selected pages of 3 government-published PDFs were visually inspected. Seventy-seven public document rows were retained. Five PDFs had selected pages visually inspected; three support these published facts. Two drawing sheets were screened but their dimensional differences are not resolved or presented as final specifications. Proposals do not establish procurement or installed work.