ESB opens new €33m Woodhouse Wind Farm in County Waterford
Minister for Energy, Alex White TD. has welcomed the completion of the new €33m Woodhouse Wind Farm in County Waterford, a key part of ESB’s Wind Development programme.
The Minister officially opened the new renewable energy site near Aglish in West Waterford recently. It has provided a significant boost to the construction sector in the region, creating 20 full-time jobs during the construction phase.
Woodhouse is one of 15 wind farms ESB has in operation in Ireland, north and south, and its completion increases the company’s total installed wind generation capacity across the island to almost 300 MW. The new 20MW Waterford wind farm will provide enough green energy to power 10,000 residential homes.
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€1m of the total investment has been spent within the greater Waterford area with a range of local companies providing materials, products and services to support the project’s development. ESB also announced that the application process for the Community Fund, worth up to €20,000 per year, is now open (details below).
Welcoming the investment Minister Alex White said, “I welcome today’s opening of ESB’s Woodhouse Wind Farm which represents the sort of investment and commitment that is needed to develop Ireland’s renewable energy resource. Wind energy now generates 18.2 per cent of all electricity demand in Ireland but there is more that we need to do to reach the EU target of 40 per cent electricity generated from renewables by 2020. If we are to achieve this we must continue to invest in onshore wind farms and other renewable technologies, and I commend ESB and its renewable energy programme for the role it is playing to support that goal.”
Construction started on site in 2013, with three primary contractors: John Sisk & Sons who oversaw the site’s civil works, Nordex who provided and maintained eight 2.5MW turbines and the Kirby Group who were responsible for the electrical balance of the plant.
Paddy Hayes, Executive Director, Generation and Wholesale Markets ESB, commenting at the launch said, “For over 80 years, since our first project at Ardnacrusha, ESB has been innovating and providing renewable energy for the economy, for our customers and for the future. The investment in Woodhouse brought a welcome boost to local employment during construction, and we have been proud to source materials, products and services from local companies to support the development of the project.”
“The ESB Woodhouse Wind Farm Community Fund is ESB’s commitment to support community initiatives in he vicinity of Woodhouse for the lifetimes of the wind farm.”
In addition to ongoing projects in the Irish wind industry sector, ESB has provided wind farm engineering services to international clients in the UK, South Africa, Jordan, Poland and Spain.