The installation of 16 turbines at SSE’s Athea Wind Farm is now underway, following the erection of the first turbine at the West Limerick wind farm.

The 34MW project, which is being constructed by SSE Renewables, remobilised late last month following a scheduled break during the local bird breeding season. It’s expected that all 16 turbines will be installed by November, and when complete the wind farm will generate enough electricity to supply almost 17,000 homes.

Seamus Lynch, Athea Wind FarmProject Manager, said: “We’ve reached an important milestone with the erection of the first turbine. This achievement is a result of much hard work and dedication by a number of colleagues across our business. As we move into a critical and exciting phase of the project, we have been working closely with the local council and wildlife groups to ensure that everything is in place for us to erect the turbines with the minimum disruption to the surrounding communities and natural habitats.”

It’s expected that the SSE project will result in an investment of around €7m into the local community. Through the construction of Athea Wind Farm, SSE is working with more than50 local suppliers and contractors, whilst helping maintain more than 200 hundred jobs throughout the project construction phase.

Athea Wind Farm is located close to SSE’s existing Tournafulla, Dromada and Rathcahill wind farms. When completed, SSE’s County Limerick wind farms will have a combined generation capacity of in excess of 100MW – enough electricity to supply over 50,000 homes powered by SSE’s retail brand Airtricity.