23 June 2023: Lenalea Wind Farm, in County Donegal, has reached another major milestone following the successful installation of the first Vestas V117 turbine on Wednesday. Lenalea, located approximately 10km southwest of Letterkenny, is a joint venture project between SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland.
The completion of the first turbine means the completed Lenalea generation unit is now Ireland’s newest installed onshore wind turbine.
The installation of the first Vestas turbines at the seven turbine, 30.1MW Lenalea site was overseen by the locally based project team as well as senior Vestas installation personnel.
Under its turbine supply agreement, Vestas is supplying and installing seven V117-4.2 MW turbines which will operate in 4.3MW operating mode at the site. This week senior representatives from both SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland met on site to review progress and to celebrate significant progress to date.
The remaining six turbines have been pre-assembled and are scheduled to be fully installed at Lenalea by the end of next month. The project remains on track to be delivered and enter commercial operation in Q4 2023.
When complete, Lenalea will be capable of generating enough renewable energy to power 20,000 homes annually and offset 24,500 tonnes of carbon per annum, contributing significantly to Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets.
Ghislain Demeuldre, SSE Renewables’ Head of Onshore Development for Ireland, said:
“Onshore wind energy has made an enormous contribution so far by supplying Ireland with clean, green, homegrown energy, and it will continue to be instrumental in delivering the country’s energy security and climate goals as we approach 2030.
“With Ireland’s newest wind turbine now in place at Lenalea Wind Farm, we are one step further on that journey.”
Mary Lynch, Portfolio Director at FuturEnergy Ireland, said:
“Lenalea Wind Farm is beginning to come to life and will be helping Ireland to deliver on its climate action and energy security goals before the end of 2023.
“This achievement is a testament to the seamless interface management between contractors, both on and off site, Donegal County Council, the Gardaí and the public, who have helped facilitate the smooth delivery of the turbines so far, enabling the first turbine to be installed. Donegal has shown real leadership as a county in terms of its support of onshore wind and climate action, and Lenalea Wind Farm is the latest example of this.”
ENDS
About Lenalea Wind Farm
Lenalea is a 7 turbine 30.1 MW consented wind farm. When completed the wind farm will generate enough low-carbon renewable energy to power 20,000 homes annually and offset 24,500 tonnes of carbon per annum, contributing significantly to Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets. The development is in construction and expected to be completed at the end of 2023. Lenalea Wind Farm is in the rural upland setting of central Donegal, approximately 10km southwest of Letterkenny within the townlands of Cark, Killymansy, Lenalea, Kirkneedy and Rareagh. The site is located in close proximity to the SSE Renewables-owned Meentycat cluster of operational wind farms.
About SSE Renewables
SSE Renewables is the UK and Ireland’s leading renewable energy developer, owner and operator with plans to expand in selected international markets to deliver the green energy the world needs. Its strategy is to lead the transition to a net zero future through the world-class development, construction and operation of renewable power assets and is building more offshore wind energy than any other company in the world.
SSE Renewables is part of SSE plc, the UK-listed integrated energy group which is investing £18bn to 2027, or £10m a day, to deliver a Net Zero Acceleration Programme Plus to address climate change head on. This includes plans by SSE Renewables to increase its installed renewable energy capacity to 9GW by 2027 and ambitious targets to almost quadruple capacity to over 15GW by 2031, increasing output fivefold to over 50TWh annually – enough to be able to power around 20 million homes each year.
About FuturEnergy Ireland
FuturEnergy Ireland is a joint venture company owned on a 50:50 basis by Coillte and ESB that is actively looking to drive Ireland’s transition to a low carbon economy. The company’s ambition is to develop more than 1GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and make a significant contribution to Ireland’s commitment to produce 80% of electricity from renewable sources by the end of the decade.
