New solar farm outside Carlow town now fully operational
TJ Hunter, Managing Director of Perigus Energy, Ireland and the UK. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan / OSM PHOTO
THE Garreenleen solar farm has today announced that it is fully operational and will begin generating enough green, secure and homegrown electricity to power the equivalent of 29,000 homes.
The 81 MW solar farm is owned by Cork-headquartered Perigus Energy (formerly Ørsted onshore) and it is the company’s first solar farm in Ireland.
It is located approximately 15km outside of Carlow town, off the N80 at Kilnock.
Construction on the project began in June 2024 after Perigus Energy was awarded the contract under the government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction in October 2023.
A tenth of the Garreenleen site has been ringfenced for biodiversity enhancement and the company has planted over 1.2 kilometres of native hedgerows to provide screening and ecological corridors for local wildlife.
The company will also make a community benefit fund of approximately €240,000 available each year while the project is operating; the fund is now open for applications.
TJ Hunter, managing director at Perigus Energy for Ireland and the UK, said the project is “a strong example of the speed of delivery of onshore renewables and what can be achieved” in green energy infrastructure projects.
