Energy firm plans wind farm project

International energy firm Element Power is planning to improve Britain’s renewable energy provisions by building a number of wind farms in the Irish midlands — a move which will create thousands of jobs here and result in Ireland exporting over €1.2 billion worth of wind-generated electricity to Britain annually.

Element’s “Greenwire” project — which is still in the planning stages — will see 40 wind farms built across counties Meath, Westmeath, Kildare, Laois and Offaly. When operational, they will provide up to 3,000 megawatts of power, which will be linked — by underground and sub-sea cables — to Britain’s national grid and go towards generating enough power for two million homes there.

The company will invest €8bn in constructing the new wind farms, building of which should commence by 2015 before becoming operational three years later. This will create around 10,000 construction and development jobs, while another 3,000 long-term engineering and maintenance jobs are also being factored in — 2,000 of which will be based in Ireland.

As well as this deal boosting Ireland’s energy exporting potential, Element will be paying around €50m a year in rental payments to local landowners and rates to local authorities across the midlands.

Element is targeting Ireland for its wind generation, with this project forming a large part of its contract to supply Britain with €1.2bn worth of electricity.

“The UK energy requirement has become Ireland’s opportunity; it makes perfect sense to capitalise on our geographic location and create an export industry,” according to Element Power Ireland chief Tim Cowhig.

This project — despite still awaiting planning permission — will be one of the first tangible results from last month’s agreement between the Irish and British governments over renewable energy trading between the two nations.