A raft of new solar farm projects are set to be built all around Ireland, supported under the Government's Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS).

Power Capital Renewable Energy is the latest company to secure a significant finance package to develop its successful RESS solar farm projects.

The company recently announced its closing of a €125m greenfield project finance package with AIB and La Banque Postale.

The company says it will lead to the creation of approximately 400 new jobs in Cork, Louth and Meath.

Funding tranches

The finance will be allocated in two tranches. The first tranche is aimed at funding a number of solar projects across Cork, Louth and Meath, collectively producing 150MW.

These projects are underpinned by long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Microsoft.

The second tranche will be used to construct an 85MW solar farm in Wexford, having a PPA with another undisclosed tech firm.

Both projects are already under way, with completion anticipated within the next nine months.

This package follows Power Capital's success in securing 15-year Government support for 300MW solar projects in the 2022 RESS-2 auction. Further, the company has ongoing projects to deploy a solar and battery storage pipeline of 5GW in Ireland.