Eight new solar farms to be built in Cork

EIGHT solar farms are to be built in Cork as part of a partnership between Bord Gáis Energy and Amarenco.

The farms will be among the first utility-scale solar production in Ireland, with Bord Gáis managing and offtaking the electricity produced from the farms for inclusion in its supply portfolio.

When the project is completed, Bord Gáis Energy said it will supply renewable energy to over 164,000 homes around the country, with the eight new Cork farms providing enough energy to power 8,000 homes.

The project marks Amarenco’s first construction of Irish solar farms.

“We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Bord Gáis Energy and we are confident that all of the green power produced by our solar farms in Co Cork will be provided to Bord Gáis Energy customers across the country,” executive chairman of Amarenco Solar, John Mullins said.

“We hope that this is the first of many such partnerships with Bord Gáis Energy in Ireland.

“We already have a successful partnership with the parent of Bord Gáis Energy, Centrica, in Spain.”

The eight solar farms in Cork will each generate up to 5MW of power.

Bord Gáis Energy recently announced partnerships with Neoen and Obton, powered by Shannon Energy, to manage over 176MW of power from a combined 14 solar farms.

When added to Bord Gáis Energy’s current renewable portfolio, which is in excess of 220MW of wind production, the company will supply renewable power to over 164,000 homes across the country.

“Our ambition is to become a net-zero business by 2045 and to provide products, services and solutions to help our customers on their journey to net-zero,” Bord Gáis Energy’s managing director Dave Kirwan said.

“We’re committed to supporting the growth of renewables in Ireland and over the past number of years have been building our portfolio to expand the renewable energy we can supply to our customers.

“Our partnership with Amarenco not only supports this ambition but also contributes to decarbonising the energy sector,” Mr Kirwan added.