Orsted has revealed that it started construction on its first Irish solar farm, Garreenleen Phase 1, located 15 km outside of Carlow town.
The 81 MW solar project from Orsted will be generating enough renewable energy to power 29,000 homes in Ireland.
Orsted won the RESS 3 contract in September 2023 to build the Garreenleen Phase 1 and the solar farm will be operational in 2026. Orsted aims at enhancing operational capacity on the island of Ireland to almost 500 MW. The Irish Government has set 8 GW solar energy target by 2030.
Orsted is also installing the necessary grid infrastructure for phase two of the solar project which comprises a further 82 MW and is targeting offtake through the Irish Government’s onshore auctions.
TJ Hunter, Senior Director, Development & Operations in UK & Ireland at Orsted, said: “We’ve begun construction on our first Irish solar farm. Solar is currently the fastest growing power generation technology in the world and essential for us to harness nature’s resources to create an energy system run on clean, reliable and renewable power.”
Orsted will establish a performance-based fund for the benefit of the local community of approximately €240,000 which will be replenished every year once the project is operational.
Orsted operates 378 MW of onshore wind across the island of Ireland, producing enough green power for over 246,000 homes. Orsted’s Irish headquarters are based in Cork City, where it employs over 100 people.
2024 marks Orsted’s biggest ever construction year with 1.5 GW of onshore renewables and 6.7 GW of offshore wind currently in construction across the globe.