The transposition of the EU's Renewable Energy Directive (RED III) into Irish law in August 2025 has changed the planning timeline for solar farm developments — with direct consequences for the timing and scope of archaeological geophysical survey. What has changed? The European Union (Planning and Development) (Renewable Energy)
A comprehensive archaeological geophysical survey conducted at Hertford Castle in January 2025 has provided several new insights into the site's complex history. Hertford Castle Greenspace Renewal Project commissioned the study as part of enabling work to identify subsurface archaeological features before planned site improvements. Using high-resolution magnetic gradiometry
TerraDat was privileged to conduct the geophysical survey at Margam Country Park that revealed a substantial Roman villa While much of our work involves commercial geophysical surveys for infrastructure and engineering developments, it was wonderful to collaborate closely with archaeologists on this research project. Working with Swansea University's
Cable routes are often given secondary consideration when developing renewable energy infrastructure due to their relatively small area compared to the overall development. However, the length and linearity of cable routes (and pipelines) mean that they are no less likely to interfere with buried archaeology, and it is as important
Solar power provides a promising contribution towards the transition to net zero. Solar farm construction is relatively low-impact compared to other energy sources; however, the area required to maximise efficiency presents its own challenges. Although the foundations for solar panel arrays are relatively minor, even a small solar development will