A 32MW solar development in Antrim, Northern Ireland was switched on earlier this week, adding a significant contribution to the region’s renewable energy goals.
Made up of a network of five sites across the County with capacities ranging between 5 and 10M, the installations share a single connection to the mains grid. The project will generate enough electricity to power more than 11,000 homes and avoid an estimated 18,140 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Aside from the electricity, other green elements of the project included planting of native hedgerow, wildflowers and the installation of bird and bat nesting boxes at the sites to preserve and enhance biodiversity.
Developers Lightsource Energy have also recently commissioned a separate solar facility, a 6 MW project at Millar Farm, Antrim. The company was also responsible for the development of Northern Ireland’s first solar farm last year.
“This makes Lightsource’s portfolio the largest connected solar portfolio in Northern Ireland at 44 MW, with further projects under development and soon to be completed,” says the company.
Solar power is yet to really take off in Northern Ireland, which is understandable as the region isn’t particularly renowned for sunny days. However, Northern Ireland is certainly a lifter rather than a leaner when it comes to renewables generally.
According to Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy, 25.4% of total electricity consumption was generated from local renewable resources last year – 1,981 GWh of the approximately 7,794 gigawatt hours consumed. This represented no change on the previous 12 month period.
Most of Northern Ireland’s renewables-generated electricity came from wind power in 2016 – 82.6%.
The region has set a target to achieve 40% of electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020. It’s certainly come a long way since 2009 when just 8% of electricity was supplied by renewables.
The region is also making headway on large scale battery storage. Last year we mentioned the completion of the 10 megawatt Kilroot Advancion Energy Storage Array, located in Kilroot Power Station in Carrickfergus.
A 2050 vision sees Northern Ireland evolving from a net importer of electricity into a significant net exporter.
