Colum Eastwood, MLA, has welcomed the opening of the multi-million pound (approximately £34m) Carrickatane wind farm in County Tyrone, a key part of ESB’s wind development programme.

ESB, which employs approximately 1,400 staff in Northern Ireland, produces 14% of the renewable electricity generated in Northern Ireland, which it sells through business retail provider Electric Ireland.  The new wind farm will power the equivalent of over 12,000 homes and is one of seventeen wind farms ESB has in operation across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, England and Wales.

Contracts with Northern Ireland businesses accounted for over 30 per cent of the total investment in the site.  Of this, £1million was invested in the immediate vicinity of Carrickatane, with over forty local companies providing services to support the development of the site.  ESB also announced that it will launch a new community fund linked to the Carrickatane wind farm, worth over £20,000 per annum to the local community.

Welcoming the investment Colum Eastwood commented that the project represents an important step in Northern Ireland’s efforts to reach its target of 40% of electricity to come from renewable sources by 2020, he said “The development of Carrickatane wind farm will help us to achieve our carbon reduction targets, it will also help to ensure our energy independence in the years ahead.  This project by ESB represents a significant investment in the region and I look forward to hearing details of the new Carrickatane community fund in the coming months.” 

Construction on the Carrickatane site started in November 2011 with three primary contractors; locally–based Adman Construction, Siemens who have supplied nine 2.3MW turbines and Powerteam who were responsible for the electrical balance of the plant. Speaking on the benefits this has had for the local area Paddy Hayes, Executive Director of Generation and Wholesale Markets at ESB, said: “Stretching back to 1927, when ESB was first established we have always sought to make an active and positive contribution to the communities in which we operate.  I’m delighted that the development of the wind farm has brought much needed investment and employment to the region.  To date we have spent over £1m on locally quarried materials and over 40 Northern Ireland companies, many based within the immediate vicinity of the wind farm, have also been providing a variety of products and services.  Through the annual community fund of £20,700 we will continue to support and invest in the local community in the months and years ahead.

“The opening of the wind farm not only highlights our continued commitment to support the Northern Ireland economy but also our resolve to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

“ESB’s wind development programme runs across Ireland and the UK and we have seventeen wind farms operating to date, four of which are based here in Northern Ireland, with another four being developed.  Through these we look forward to creating cleaner power using sustainable generation for the betterment of everyone within our society.”

ESB’s four operational wind farms in Northern Ireland include Hunter’s Hill, Cockagarran, Curryfree and Carrickatane.  Of the four other Northern Ireland wind farms in development the site in Eglish, near Claudy, received planning permission in August this year.

ENDS

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