Orsted partners with Terra Solar to develop 400MW of solar energy in Ireland 

The energy multinational said the portfolio of projects has the potential to power over 90,000 Irish homes

Ørsted currently operates 378 MW of onshore wind across the island of Ireland, producing enough power for over 230,000 homes

Renewable energy multinational Orsted has announced the development of a number of Irish solar projects in partnership with renewable developer, Terra Solar, headquartered in University College Dublin.

With a capacity of up to 400 MW, the projects have the potential to power over 90,000 Irish homes, with the latest partnership bringing further momentum to Orsted's solar pipeline in Ireland, which now totals over 600 MW.

Subject to grid route consent and a grid offer, the projects announced today are aimed to be completed by 2030, in line with the Irish government’s 8 GW Climate Action Plan solar energy target. 

According to Orsted, the renewable electricity produced by the solar farm portfolio has several potential routes to market including future RESS auctions and corporate power purchase agreements.

The Irish investment follows Ørsted’s entry into the UK solar market announced only last week with the development of a proposed 740 MW solar farm and associated battery storage in Nottinghamshire. In Ireland, Orsted is headquartered in Cork city where it employs more than 100 people.

“We are delighted to extend our existing collaboration with Terra Solar on the development of these projects which will contribute to Ørsted’s global goal of 17.5 GW of onshore renewables by 2030,” said TJ Hunter, Senior Director, Development & Operations in UK & Ireland at Ørsted.

“Solar energy is an essential component for enabling the Irish power system to run entirely on green energy. Ireland has seen several amber alerts on warm summer days with low wind speeds, the cost of electricity is too high due to over-reliance on fossil fuel, and the carbon intensity of Ireland’s electricity is among the highest in Europe."

"To solve these issues and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, we need to grow solar energy in parallel with onshore wind, offshore wind, and energy storage” he added.

Ørsted currently operates 378 MW of onshore wind across the island of Ireland, producing enough power for over 230,000 homes. The energy multinational currently has two Irish solar projects in development, and earlier this year, the company announced a partnership with ESB to jointly develop an Irish offshore wind portfolio.

In total, Ørsted has over 5.7 GW of onshore renewables in operation, under construction or consented across the United States and Europe.