Solar farms to get grid contract

Several solar farms in Wicklow are on the final list of 82 renewable energy projects which are set to receive contracts for the supply of energy to the national grid.

Templerainey East Solar Farm in Arklow, Threecastles Solar Farm in Blessington and Millvale North in Rathnew were shortlisted last month to receive contracts for the supply of energy as part of the first Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) auction. On Friday, the Government confirmed it had approved the finalised auction results which include a mix of solar and wind energy projects.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Eamon Ryan said, ‘I am delighted to welcome the final results of the first auction under the new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme. The first RESS auction provides us with a platform for rapid deployment of onshore wind and solar projects at scale and at least cost, replacing fossil fuels on our energy grid. The results are very competitive and represent a significant saving on previous support schemes.’

The first RESS auction included an obligation on renewable energy developers to create mandatory community benefit funds for all projects. The community benefit fund is expected to deliver approximately €4.5 million a year to sustainable community initiatives targeted at those communities living in close proximity to these projects. The Government said work had already begun to identify priority projects in each area.

The Millvale North project, being developed by Bnrgn Millvale Ltd, is expected to supply around 8MW of electricity to the grid in a year. Cooleast Limied’s Templerainey East Solar Farm will offer around 4MW of energy to the grid. 15MW of electrity could be supplied by developer Solas Eireann’s Threecastles Solar Farm.

Renewable energy is a major part of the Government’s plans to reduce Ireland’s carbon emissions.