Northern Ireland Windfarm Commissioned

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Irish renewable energy firm Gaelectric (Dublin, Ireland) has commissioned one of Ireland's largest onshore windfarms, the 42-megawatt (MW) Dunbeg windfarm in Northern Ireland.

Located between Limavady and Coleraine in County Derry, it comprises 14 Enercon wind turbines with a maximum tip height of 125 meters and the ability to generate enough electricity for approximately 24,000 homes. The windfarm had to overcome stiff opposition to getting built after winning a successful appeal against a previous refusal in 2011. For additional information, see March 7, 2011, article - Gaelectric Wins Approval for Northern Ireland Windfarm.

The €72 million ($90 million) project is one of a large number of Irish windfarms planned by Gaelectric for the coming years. Dunbeg is one of nine consented windfarms the company has secured during the past three years, all located in Northern Ireland. The company commissioned its first Irish windfarm last May, the 14-MW Carn Hill windfarm, located in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim. It plans to commission its remaining seven Northern Ireland projects by 2017.

"Dunbeg marks a major milestone for our business and further strengthens Gaelectric's platform within the Single Electricity Market (SEM) on the island of Ireland," commented Brendan McGrath, Gaelectric Group CEO. "Our total permitted portfolio now stands at 140 MW in Northern Ireland and represents a total investment of approximately €212 million ($265 million). This consolidates Gaelectric's position as the largest indigenous renewable energy company in Northern Ireland. We have been progressing an ambitious wind energy development program in Ireland, the United States centered on the State of Montana, and in energy storage utilizing compressed air energy storage (CAES) technology in our CAES Project near Larne in Northern Ireland. The launch of Dunbeg is a fitting way to mark our 10 years in existence and a tribute to our internal team and our technology and funding partners who have made this happen."

The largest Irish windfarm is the Meentycat windfarm, near Ballybofey in County Donegal, which has an installed capacity of 88.5 MW and is owned and operated by Airtricity Holdings Limited (Dublin, Ireland).

Ireland, including Northern Ireland, has a wind generating capacity of 2,816 MW, capable of supplying more than 16% of the island's electricity. Northern Ireland has a wind generation capacity of 626 MW.

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