Construction to start on first of 20 solar farms in Cork
An Amarenco solar farm in Spain. File Picture
Construction is getting under way on the first of 20 solar farm projects in Co Cork, costing an estimated €200m, which will provide enough electricity to power 80,000 homes a year when completed.
Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney turned the sod at the first site where construction is to start at Kilmoney, Carrigaline, on Monday.
Amarenco executive chairman John Mullins said Carrigaline is in the first batch of five sites around the county which will be operational by September and October.
The other four are at Inniscarra, Kanturk, Mallow, and Whitechurch.
By 2026, Amarenco aims to be operating 20 solar farms in Co Cork.
The majority of the sites chosen by the company have already received planning permission from Cork County Council.
They are in Ballineen, Midleton, Timoleague, Cobh, Currabinny, and Béal na Bláth.
“They will be built in phases from this year through to 2026,” said Mr Mullins. "In total, when they are all operational, they will produce enough electricity to power 80,000 homes a year.
“It is a great honour to have Minister Simon Coveney turn the sod on this plant in his own backyard.
"These plants will bring clean energy to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the State.”
Currently, about 6% of the country’s energy needs comes from solar power, but this percentage is expected to increase significantly in the next few years as more projects, such as the ones being undertaken by Amarenco, reach fruition.
At present, wind energy production is well ahead of solar, accounting for just over 20% of energy production.
The Kilmoney site comprises of about 15,000 solar modules, each with a 540 watt rating, along with 28 string inverters which convert the DC (direct current) power to AC (alternating current), and a transformer to step the voltage up to distribution level, for exportation to the national grid.
Amarenco, which has its headquarters in Cork, was established in 2013 to finance and develop renewable energy infrastructures, particularly in France and Ireland.
Now active in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, the group designs, develops, finances, acquires, builds, and operates medium- to large-scale solar photovoltaic infrastructure.
It has already carried out more than 2,000 solar and solarised infrastructure projects and is the European leader in agrivoltaic infrastructure.
The Amarenco Group, which is implementing the largest storage project in continental Europe, is also bringing energy production and consumption closer together through the digital development of short circuits.
The group currently employs more than 200 people worldwide, 35 of whom are based in its Cork office.
