Tag: Ørsted

Ørsted and EnergyCloud turn excess green energy into free hot water for Kerry residents

Leading renewable energy company Ørsted today announced a partnership with the charity EnergyCloud to provide up to 100 homes in Kerry with free hot water through surplus renewable energy from its wind farms in Kilgarvan.

Through Ørsted’s community benefit fund, EnergyCloud, working in partnership with Kerry County Council, will provide free hot water to the homes that are geographically nearest to Ørsted’s wind farms, dependent on tenant sign-up.  EnergyCloud will heat the home’s water tank during times of energy curtailment through smart immersion technology, with homes under Kerry County Council’s stock eligible for the scheme. Ørsted will provide approximately €500 per home to the initiative.

TJ Hunter, Vice President Onshore, Ireland and the UK said: “Our community benefit is all about supporting local communities for the long term. Partnering with EnergyCloud is a great example of how we can make that happen. By using surplus renewable energy, we’re helping households in need. It’s proof that renewable energy can do more than just power homes, it supports communities.”

Alan Wyley, CEO of EnergyCloud Ireland said: “We’re delighted to partner with Ørsted Onshore Ireland and Kerry County Council on this trial that will make a real difference to people’s lives. This is a simple but effective way to provide an essential service like hot water, while making better use of Ireland’s renewable resources. We hope this initiative will drive others to do similar projects”.

The initiative supplies homes with smart immersion controllers, enabling free overnight hot water heating during periods of surplus renewable energy. This will be EnergyCloud’s first project in county Kerry and builds on its existing collaborations with local authorities and approved housing bodies in counties including Offaly, Cork, Galway, and Limerick.

Ørsted has three operational wind farms in the Kilgarvan area – Kilgarvan, Sillahertane, and Inchincoosh – which have a combined generating capacity of 86 MW of green electricity across 38 turbines, enough to power more than 53,000 homes annually.

Having already operated in the area since 2007, Ørsted has also started the Kilgarvan Repower project, which will replace 28 turbines, totalling 77.5 MW, with up to 11 more modern machines. These existing wind farms, located northeast of Kilgarvan village, have been operational since 2007 and 2009.

This year, €86,000 has been made available for Kerry communities in through Ørsted’s Community Benefit Fund. Community groups and initiatives such as, Kilgarvan Central School and Kilgarvan GAA Club have previously received funding from this initiative.

Ørsted installs first turbines on wind farm in Farranrory, Tipperary

The first wind turbines have successfully been installed at Farranrory Onshore Wind Farm in Co. Tipperary, Ireland: Ørsted’s 22nd wind farm on the island of Ireland.

Located near Ballingarry, the onshore wind farm will consist of nine Nordex N133 4.8 MW turbines and will substantially improve the Irish grid via a 33.5km 110kV connection to Ballyragget substation in Co. Kilkenny. Once fully operational the wind farm will have capacity to supply 43.2 MW of renewable electricity, which is enough to power up to 25,000 households.

Beyond generating more renewable electricity, Farranrory Wind Farm is the first development in the world to incorporate road markers made from recycled turbine blades. By recycling old blades from Ørsted’s recently retired Owenreagh 1 windfarm in Northern Ireland, the onshore development supports the company’s commitment to either reuse, recycle, or recover every wind turbine blade that reaches its end of life.

TJ Hunter Vice President of Onshore Ireland & UK, Ørsted said, “We are really proud to reach this milestone for turbine installation at Farranrory. It brings contemporary leading-edge turbine and grid technology together to help secure Ireland’s energy system. Using recycled blades from our oldest windfarm to make marker posts for our newest windfarm brings the meaning of circular economy to the next level. We are grateful to the community and stakeholders who are working with us every day to make this project a success.”

The development was awarded a contract under the Irish Government’s third onshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 3) auction in 2023 and is expected to be fully operational by the summer of 2026. Once operational it will have a community benefit fund of over €280,000 per annum.

In 2025, Cork based Ørsted Onshore Ireland is constructing 179.2 MW of additional renewable capacity in Ireland, including our first two Irish solar farms. Together, these projects will bring Ørsted’s operational capacity across solar power and onshore wind in Ireland and Northern Ireland to over 550 MW.

Ørsted takes final investment decision on its first Irish solar farm

Ørsted has taken final investment decision (FID) on phase one of Garreenleen Solar Farm, which marks the company’s first solar investment in Ireland.   

Located 15 km outside of Carlow town, this 81 MW solar development is expected to be operational by 2026 and will bring Ørsted’s operational capacity on the island of Ireland to almost 500 MW.    

 Today’s FID follows the project’s successful win under the Irish Government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 3 (RESS 3) auction in September 2023. RESS 3 was a successful auction for Ørsted, with two projects (wind and solar) totalling 124 MW clearing. The RESS 3 auction average strike price was EUR 100.47 per MWh, which is consistent with similar regimes in other European markets.   

 Commenting on the investment decision, Kieran White, Senior Vice President of Onshore in Region Europe at Ørsted, said:  

“Solar energy is an essential component for enabling the Irish power system to run entirely on green energy, and I’m delighted to confirm that Ørsted now will invest in our first Irish solar farm.“ 

 He continued: “While this will be our first solar project in Ireland, our strong pipeline of other projects, which continue to progress through consenting and grid access, gives us the confidence that more will follow.”  

“Garreenleen is an attractive solar project because it has a short grid route to a strong meshed node in the existing national electricity network, in an area of the grid where constraints are forecast to be low. With this investment decision, the project will also install the necessary grid infrastructure to facilitate the connection of a second phase of the project, which we hope to commit to within the next year,” he concluded. 

Ørsted Announces New Wind Farm In Northern Ireland Under 16MW Corporate Power Purchase Agreement

Leading global renewable energy company Ørsted today announced the opening of a new wind farm in Northern Ireland as part of a corporate power purchase agreement with Amazon. Located in County Antrim, the 16MW Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland – Ballykeel will generate renewable energy from seven turbines, bringing Ørsted’s total operational capacity to 378MW across the island of Ireland. Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland – Ballykeel is the first renewable energy project enabled by a corporate power purchase agreement to become operational in Northern Ireland.

In addition to the Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland – Ballykeel, Amazon has also signed corporate power purchase agreements for Ørsted’s offshore wind farm Borkum Riffgrund 3 in Germany, the onshore wind farm Kennoxhead in Scotland, and the onshore Amazon Wind Farm in Texas. Amazon is on a path to powering its operations globally with 100% renewable energy by 2025, and last year reached 90%.

TJ Hunter, Senior Director, Development and Operations, Ørsted UK & Ireland said: “We’re very pleased to work with Amazon and successfully deliver more renewable energy in Northern Ireland. Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland – Ballykeel is the first renewable energy project to be delivered under a corporate power purchase agreement in Northern Ireland, which demonstrates the important role that companies can play in adding clean energy to the grid.”

Lindsay McQuade, Director of Energy, EMEA at Amazon said: “Wind energy plays a critical role in decarbonising both Amazon’s operations and the Irish grid, and we’re proud to invest in renewable energy projects like the Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland – Ballykeel. Today at Amazon, we power 90% of our operations with renewable energy, and projects like Ballykeel and more than 400 other wind and solar projects around the world will help us on our path to reach 100% by 2025.”

As part of the development, Ørsted has established a £16,000 fund for the benefit of the local community which will be replenished every year. More information on how to apply for the fund can be found at www.orsted.ie

Ørsted secures solar and wind renewable energy contracts under Irish RESS 3 auction

Ørsted has secured two contracts in the Irish Government’s third onshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS 3) auction. The approved Ørsted projects were the 81 MW Garreenleen Solar Farm in Carlow, and the 43.2 MW Farranrory Onshore Wind Farm in Tipperary. 

Commenting on the provisional results of the RESS 3 auction, Kieran White, Senior Vice President of Onshore in Region Europe at Ørsted, said: “With a combined output of 124 MW, these projects will assist in driving down the cost of electricity compared to fossil fuel generation and contribute to Ireland’s overall energy independence while meeting our value creation targets. We expect to deliver the projects before 2030 within the RESS 3 timelines.”  

 A total of 24 onshore wind and solar projects, including Ørsted’s two projects, cleared in the RESS 3 auction at an average strike price of EUR 100.47 per MWh.

Ørsted’s Irish headquarters are based in Cork City, where it employs over 100 people. Ørsted currently operates 378 MW of onshore wind across the island of Ireland, producing enough power for over 230,000 homes. Ørsted recently announced a partnership with ESB to jointly develop an Irish offshore wind portfolio and a partnership with Terra Solar to develop 400MW of solar energy.  

Ranked as one of the world’s most sustainable energy companies, Ørsted has over 5.7 GW of onshore renewables in operation, under construction or consented across the United States and Europe.  

Ørsted become first renewable energy sponsor of STEM showcase for young women

Leading global renewable energy company Ørsted, has become the first renewable energy company to sponsor the I Wish STEM showcase event which promotes careers in STEM to young women. The ninth annual I Wish STEM Showcase attracted 3,000 female students to the event in Dublin, with more than 15,000 attending virtually.

During the Girls in STEM 10 Fast Facts panel discussion, Olivia Roche, Project Developer at Ørsted spoke about her experience as a woman in STEM and the diversity of her role at Ørsted. She shared insights with those attending on the development of wind and solar farms in Ireland and globally, as well as the processes behind securing land, engaging with communities, and working with planners and environmental experts to assess projects’ possible impacts. Ørsted has to date invested over €500m in Irish renewables, managing 10% of the total wind assets across the island of Ireland which is equivalent to powering over 250,000 homes. Their Irish headquarters are based in Cork City, where it employs 90 people.