ESB has today (Tuesday, January 9) confirmed that work will get underway shortly on its first solar farm which will be constructed in Co. Meath.
The Bullstown Solar Farm, located to the south-east of Ashbourne, is the first of a series of utility-scale solar farms being constructed by ESB.
This is the first of three wholly-owned ESB solar farms currently being progressed which represents a total investment of almost €200 million.
Solar farm
The new project will be developed by Bullstown Solar Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ESB.
Greencells GmbH, which has been awarded the contract for the €13 million project, is scheduled to commence construction in the coming months.
Once complete, the solar farm will generate 8.5MW of electricity which will provide enough capacity to power over 2,000 homes.
Bullstown Solar Farm will connect to the electricity network via a short length of cable into the existing Ashbourne 38kV substation that adjoins the site.
ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy includes a commitment to deliver more than a fivefold increase in renewable generation portfolio to 5,000MW.
Along with solar, ESB will also focus on offshore and onshore wind, battery and green hydrogen projects.
Clean energy
Eoin Naughton, solar development manager at ESB, said: “Bullstown Solar Farm marks the beginning of a sustained campaign by ESB to develop and construct a large portfolio of utility-scale solar farms throughout the midlands, south and south-east of the country as we move towards our ultimate goal of achieving Net Zero by 2040.
“Solar provides an excellent opportunity for landowners and local communities to benefit from the clean energy transition.
“Projects like this one will help to reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels whilst also contributing to decarbonising our electrical network.
“We now look forward to working with Greencells, one of the largest European solar EPC providers, to deliver Bullstown Solar Farm,” he added.
Greencells has said that Ireland is “a focus market” for the German-based company which is currently involved in the construction of six solar farms around the country.