From left: Andrew Wilkinson of Solar Farmers with Garrett Donnellan of Energia Group. Image: Julien Behal
The sites in Glenamoy and Darthogue, Co Meath, have the potential to eventually power up to 58,000 homes in Ireland.
On Monday (9 December), Irish energy provider and infrastructure investor Energia Group announced the acquisition of two new solar projects. The announcement marks the first investment under the group’s €3bn renewable energy programme.
Energia Group will acquire the Irish solar developer, Solfar Farmers Ltd, which has solar projects at Glenamoy and Darthogue in Meath.
At present, Energia is working on making the sites capable of powering 9,000 homes, but the projects have the potential to eventually service 58,000 homes across Ireland.
The group plans to develop the two projects, as both sites have secured planning permission for the construction of solar infrastructure that will generate up to 32MW of exported power, with the potential for future expansion to 220MW.
The company’s strategic objectives
Garrett Donnellan, head of corporate development at Energia Group said: “This is a very important agreement for Energia as it marks our first large-scale solar generation project. Earlier this year we announced our ‘positive energy’ investment strategy and commitment to help Ireland meeting its climate change and carbon reduction objectives.
“This announcement is part of that programme and an illustration of our intent. We have invested in these projects as they are in line with our strategic objectives as a green energy provider and they offer the potential for future growth that will deliver for our customers, the communities we serve and broader corporate commitments.”
Energia Group plans to implement its investment programme across a range of major renewable energy projects, including onshore and offshore windfarms, solar power, hydrogen fuel generation, bio-energy facilities and the smart grid.
The group hopes that this particular investment will add up to 1.5 gigawatts of renewable generation to the grid over the five-year programme, contributing to Ireland’s climate change reduction targets.
With offices in Dublin, Belfast, Antrim and Armagh, the group has 800 employees in Ireland and an annual turnover of €2bn. At present, the Energia Group is powering more than 763,000 homes in Ireland.
