Simple Power's chief executive, Philip Rainey (left) with Power NI's Philip Carson (right)
Northern Irish wind energy company Simple Power has launched seven new wind turbines in counties Tyrone, Antrim, Down and Derry, bringing the total number erected over the past four months to nine.
Each turbine has an energy-producing capacity of 250kW and Simple Power has plans to install a total of 200 turbines across Northern Ireland in order to reach the government’s energy targets by 2020.
Simple Power has already begun exporting power from the seven new turbines, with electricity generated being fed back into the Northern Ireland grid with the power purchased by Power NI, one of the region’s biggest electricity retailers, under a power purchase agreement.
According to research recently conducted by PwC, if Northern Ireland’s 40pc renewable energy target was to be met with 250kW-sized turbines, it could be worth at least stg£10m per annum to landowners and farmers across Northern Ireland over a 20-year period.
Simple Power’s chief executive, Philip Rainey, said of the company is delighted to complete the construction and commissioning of the seven turbines.
“The new turbines demonstrate growth, not only for Simple Power, but also for the wind industry in Northern Ireland. Despite many challenges, the outlook continues to be promising for the renewables sector. Wind power has the potential to be an economic significance for this country. We are lucky to have the wind resources at our disposal.”
Wind turbine image via Shutterstock
