An Bord Pleanála — Ireland’s national independent planning body — has granted planning permission to leading renewable energy partners
SSE Renewables and
FuturEnergy Ireland to develop Drumnahough Wind Farm in County Donegal. The onshore wind development, which will comprise 12 turbines with a maximum tip height of 167.5m, is in the rural uplands of Donegal, 13km from Letterkenny and located within the ‘townlands’ of Treankeel, Meenadaura, Carrickalangan and Cark.
During construction, the wind farm will create around 60 jobs; and once operational the 60MW wind farm will be capable of generating enough green energy to power around 40,000 homes and offset almost 40 million kg of carbon emissions annually.
Drumnahough Wind Farm is a 50:50 co-development between SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland and represents a joint total capital investment of around 60 million euros between the two development partners. SSE Renewables will lead on the construction of the project and will operate the wind farm on completion.
Garry Brides, project manager of Drumnahough for SSE Renewables, said: “Delivery of Drumnahough Wind Farm will help boost Ireland’s energy independence and cut costs for the consumer by providing cheaper, more secure, homegrown energy for consumers. It will also make a significant contribution to Ireland’s ambitious renewable energy targets and efforts to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050.”
Mary Lynch, portfolio director at FuturEnergy Ireland, added: “Following the positive planning determination for Drumnahough Wind Farm, the focus of the joint teams now shifts immediately to the grid and commercialisation modules.
From FuturEnergy Ireland’s perspective, it brings us one step closer to achieving our stated ambition of generating 1GW of renewable electricity by 2030. In partnership with SSE Renewables, we are very much looking forward to seeing Drumnahough Wind Farm help Ireland leverage its unique wind resource, attain climate targets, and increase the country’s energy security, all while providing a boost to the local economy and the community.”