Bord na Móna begin construction on €100m wind farm after winning RESS funding

Bord na Móna has begun construction of a new €100m wind farm in Cloncreen, Co Offaly. Once operational in 2022, the 75 MW wind farm will produce enough electricity to supply 55,000 homes each year.

The Cloncreen Wind Farm will see the development of 21 turbines as well as 20km of walk and cycleways throughout 960ha of bog.

Construction began just months after the results of Ireland’s first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction were announced. RESS is a Government-backed competitive support scheme where renewable electricity generators bid for 15 years guaranteed support.

Quarter of the capacity

Of the 82 successful bids in the auction, Bord na Móna’s two projects won 25% of the total capacity awarded.

Bord na Móna’s Cloncreen Wind Farm and the Oweninny Wind Farm Phase 2 (a joint venture with ESB, in Co Mayo) won approximately 158MW of the 1,275 MW awarded in the auction.

For a full explainer of the results from the first RESS auction, click here.

The two wind farm projects represent a €170m investment by Bord na Móna into its Brown to Green strategy.

Commenting on the development, Bord na Móna CEO Tom Donnellan said: “The start of construction here in Cloncreen underscores Bord na Móna’s leadership role in the delivery of the nation’s green energy supply using our proven capability in this area and our 80,000ha estate”.

Portfolio

Currently, Bord na Móna have an extensive list of operational wind farms as well as multiple projects in construction and planning.

Operational

In construction

Pre-construction

Planning applications in process

Pre-planning