Tag: Wind Farm

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 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