SSE Renewables has installed the final wind turbine for the Yellow River Wind Farm in County Offaly, Ireland.
With the 29 turbines now installed, construction on the 101MW onshore wind farm is set to be completed this summer, with the site slated to become fully operational in early 2025. The turbines were supplied and installed by turbine provider Nordex Group.
All future power produced from the wind farm has been contracted out under a 16.5-year Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS) contract from the Irish Government.
Commenting on the milestone, Paul Rodgers, project manager on Yellow River Wind Farm for SSE Renewables said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone in the project. It takes a huge amount of planning and organisation to get to this point. It was a massive team effort from everyone involved including our contracting partners Nordex, Farrans and Suir Engineering. We would like to thank the local communities surrounding Rhode for their patience and support over the past few months while we transported turbine components from the Port of Galway to site.
“Developments like Yellow River Wind Farm continue to be significant for Ireland, not just through the contribution they will make towards meeting Ireland’s green electricity targets, but also through the strategically important role they play in supporting local investment, creating good jobs and boosting regional development.”
Irish wind is growing
Activity in the Irish wind power sector has been growing recently, with both onshore and offshore wind projects on the rise.
In April, SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland announced that Microsoft had signed a long-term corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) to purchase power from the newly commissioned Lenalea Wind Farm in County Donegal.
This came just weeks after SSE Renewables announced it had formed a 50:50 joint venture with Bord na Móna, which seeks to deliver an 800MW onshore wind portfolio to Ireland. Bord Gáis Energy and Corio Generation have also recently joined forces to explore opportunities to develop Ireland’s offshore wind capacity.
