Renewable energy firm Gaelectric has secured €38m in financing from AIB to build two wind farms in Co Kilkenny that will be capable of powering almost 16,000 homes.
For the second time in a week, Gaelectric has secured the necessary financing to build its projects, having recently announced it had received more than €8m in EU funding to develop a 330MW energy storage project in Larne, Northern Ireland.
Now, according to The Irish Times, its €38m financing deal with AIB will run over the course of the next 15 years and will see the construction of two wind farms: Ballybay Wind Farm and Foyle Wind Farm.
Ballybay Wind Farm will be located near the town of Tullaroan, with six turbines operating with a capacity of 13.8MW and capable of powering 9,300 homes.
Meanwhile, just over 2.5km away, Foyle Wind Farm will have four turbines with a capacity of 9.6MW powering 6,500 homes.
Joins Thurles grid
Expected to begin operations in the first quarter of 2017, the two new wind farms will join what is referred to as the Blanchfield Cluster, joining Cnoc Wind Farm near the town of Grange.
This cluster will then form part of a 34MW underground grid connection located near Thurles, Co Tipperary.
In the past four months, Gaelectric has opened three wind farms with a combined capacity of 21MW in Offaly, Roscommon and Derry, joining the recent storage project announced for Larne.
In a statement, Gaelectric’s COO, Barry Gavin, said: “We acquired our interests in the Blanchfield Cluster around the middle of 2015.
“We are very pleased to have concluded financing agreements to fund construction just 12 months later.”
Wind turbine base image via Shutterstock
