Wind farms to create 150 jobs

A CAVAN company is to create 150 jobs at 10 new wind farms, producing enough electricity to power 135,000 houses annually.

In an investment worth €740 million, Galetech Energy will locate the wind farms in Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, Westmeath, Meath, Sligo, Offaly, Laois and Longford.

It is expected the construction phase will employ 1,500 people, while a further 3,500 will be created in industries supporting the development, manufacture and operation of the wind turbines and ancillary works.

Once constructed, the 150 jobs generated will be in the management, operation and maintenance of the projects for the 30-year farm lifetime.

According to the Galetech, the projects will produce more than 370 megawatts of electricity avoiding the emission of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

“These projects alone would avoid the emission of over 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere annually, which is equivalent in terms of a reduction of emissions to the removal of over 140,000 cars and light commercials from our roads annually,” it said.

Currently in Ireland there is just over one GW of wind generation installed with a further four GW required to fulfil current Irish targets.

Galetech has asked for the Government’s support to ensure that grid connections are prioritised for projects that are ready to be constructed.

Meanwhile, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Conor Lenihan has launched a nationwide scheme which could generate thousands of new jobs in the clean-tech sector over the next 12 months.

The focus of the Greenloan Home Energy Savers Scheme is to create employment opportunities in local communities throughout Ireland by grouping homeowners to avail of discounts in upgrading their properties.