Coillte in wind farm deal

MORE than 60,000 homes will be supplied with wind energy upon completion of a new 105MW wind farm on Coillte-owned lands in Cloosh Valley, Moycullen, Co Galway.

One of Ireland’s largest wind projects to date, Coillte’s partners are Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Finavera Renewables.

Coillte and SSE will each have a 45% stake in the project, while Finavera will retain a 10% interest. The project will cost an estimated €150 million to €200m to build.

Coillte chief executive David Gunning said: “We identified the potential of the Cloosh Valley site as part of our long term strategy. This year alone we have six more wind farm projects in the pipeline for planning with a potential 250MW.

“As Ireland’s largest land owner, Coillte has a unique and extensive portfolio of sites for wind farms across the country, with some of the best wind regimes.

“We anticipate continuing to make a significant contribution to meeting Ireland’s renewable energy targets.”

Coillte has planning permission for 22 turbines in the first phase of the project, which will generate about 50MW.

This is enough power to meet the electricity needs of more than 30,000 homes.

On completion, the 105MW wind farm will have the capacity to generate enough electricity to supply over 60,000 homes.

About 20% of installed wind energy generation capacity in Ireland is situated on land owned or formerly owned by Coillte.

And it is the second largest developer of on-shore sites.

The wind resource at the Cloosh Valley project is among the strongest in Europe.