€64m wind farm due to be operational by 2018

A €64m wind farm being constructed by the ESB and Coillte in north Cork is due to become commercially operational by May 2018.

The two companies — who are operating the project on a 50-50 joint venture basis — yesterday announced financial closure on the 33.1 megawatt Castlepook Wind Farm, near Doneraile, where construction began in April.

When Castlepook — which was granted planning approval by An Bord Pleanála three years ago — is fully operational, it will generate enough power for around 17,000 homes per year.

The 14-turbine project will be financed by long-term debt from Bank of Ireland and will connect to the electricity distribution system at Charleville via an underground cable that will be installed as part of the works.

ESB chief executive Pat O’Doherty said such investments should deliver long-term social, economic, and environmental benefits.

“This project represents ESB’s commitment to investing and innovating in low carbon and renewable technologies, including wind energy,” he said.

“Castlepook wind farm will add to ESB’s existing portfolio of 15 wind farms on the island of Ireland and will help us achieve our target of 1,600 megawatts of wind generation capacity by 2025.”

For Coillte, Castlepook marks a fourth wind farm project in the last 12 months, involving a combined total investment of €400m.

“We are well on our way to completing our ambition of having 350 megawatts of installed capacity in the coming years providing power for over 300,000 homes,” said Coillte chief executive Fergal Leamy.

Meanwhile, Irish renewable energy firm Gaelectric has unveiled the largest roof-mounted solar power project in the country at the Dublin headquarters of Butlers Chocolates.

The installation covers around 30,660sq ft of the Butlers factory in Clonshaugh and will generate over 350,000-kilowatt hours (kWh) worth of electricity using over 1,500 PV panels.

“Butlers Chocolates are taking a leading position in the Irish food industry in showing how increasing sustainability in a manufacturing process makes both commercial and operational sense,” said Gaelectric Solar Energy managing director Joe O’Carroll.