Amarenco is powering ahead with solar energy projects
Amarenco visit to Carrigaline: (back row) Xavier Messing, Amarenco; Declan Cullinane, MD of Amarenco Ireland; and Samuel Jerome, Amarenco; (front row) Mrs Céline Place, French Ambassador to Ireland, and Mrs Alison Milton, Irish Ambassador to France at a site visit to Amarenco’s Carrigaline project.
Local community groups were among those to welcome delegations from the French Embassy in Ireland and the Irish Embassy in France during their recent visit to a solar energy project currently under construction in Carrigaline, Co Cork.
The Carrigaline solar farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power 3,000 homes when complete. As part of the development, renewable energy developer Amarenco has unveiled extensive ecological plans to increase the biodiversity of the site and has worked with local ecologists to establish exactly what the land needs to regenerate and restore the soil’s capacity to absorb carbon emissions, promote biodiversity and retain water.
Amarenco was founded in Ireland in 2013 to speed up the shift to clean energy. It invests in long-term energy infrastructure and works to deliver projects that support communities as well as the environment. In 2025, Amarenco delivered more than 600GWh of energy – enough energy to power 125,000 homes.
Amarenco’s global headquarters is located in Cork and the company has a major operational footprint in France. In 2018, it merged with Méthode Carré, a French design office and project management company that designs photovoltaic projects, and the enlarged company trades as Amarenco.
Earlier this year, the company announced that it had secured an additional €130m preferred equity, which will help fund its new energy projects in Ireland and international acquisitions.
Along with the Carrigaline project, other current Amarenco projects include solar farms in Cobh and Timoleague in Cork and the Modeligo Solar Development in Co Waterford. The 16MW Carrigaline project, situated on a site 1.5km to the east of the town, is set to be operational by the end of this year.
Céline Place, the French ambassador to Ireland, Alison Milton, the Irish ambassador to France, and representatives from both embassies were among the recent visitors to the project in Carrigaline.
Ms Place said: “The clean energy transition is one of the most dynamic areas in Franco-Irish cooperation. As the merger of a French and an Irish company, Amarenco is the perfect example of the deep ties between our business ecosystems and how people-to-people connections can deliver great projects.
“Projects like Carrigaline demonstrate how our shared commitment to sustainability can deliver concrete results for both Ireland and France. Kudos to Amarenco for all their progress in finding renewable energy solutions.”
Amarenco managing director, Declan Cullinane, said the company was delighted to welcome the French and Irish diplomatic groups to Carrigaline and show them the progress being made on the development as it nears completion.
Mr Cullinane said: “This visit is an opportunity to see the work behind delivering renewable energy projects and the contribution that Franco-Irish cooperation can make to Ireland’s energy transition.
“Amarenco has a significant presence in France, so this relationship is particularly relevant to our business.
“As we work towards bringing the project into operation by the end of the year, our focus remains on delivering clean energy while building strong relationships with the communities around our projects.”
As part of the development, Amarenco has extensive ecological plans to increase the biodiversity of the site and has worked with local ecologists to establish exactly what the land needs to regenerate and restore the soil’s capacity to absorb carbon emissions, promote biodiversity, and retain water.
A community benefit fund will also be established once the project is operational, which will help to support community and sports projects and initiatives in the locality.
