Here are Paul Cooley, the General Manager Ireland of SSE Renewablest and the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at the opening of the £125m Slieve Kirk Wind Park this week.
The Park has been developed by SSE Renewables to supply energy to the second largest energy provider Airtricity. The Park was originally a 27MW wind farm near Ardmore, but has now been boosted by a 46MW expansion at Glenconway Hill, outside Limavady taking the area’s generating capacity to 73MW. Slieve Kirk Wind Park has been built at a total capital investment cost of £125m, of which £36m has been spent directly with around 75 local supply chain businesses supporting local jobs and enterprise.
The wind farm is expected to generate enough green energy to power over 65,000 homes, further contributing to Northern Ireland’s 40% target of renewable electricity generation by 2020.
Since it first entered the energy market here in Northern Ireland in 2008, SSE has invested £400m into Northern Ireland’s energy infrastructure. There’s no as much opposition to lanmd-based widn farms in Northern Ireland as there has been in England and Wales and some of that may be down to The Slieve Kirk Community Fund winning hearts and minds and handing out around £75,000 each year since 2008 to help fund 24 community-backed energy efficiency projects from the surrounding areas.
After officially opening the wind farm on 20 November, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said:
“The building of this wind farm has not only contributed to our renewable energy target but also delivered economic benefits for local companies and supported local jobs.”
Paul Cooley, general manager in Ireland for SSE Renewables, added:
“Through the development of Slieve Kirk Wind Park we have been able to demonstrate this commitment to our communities by ensuring that local workers and the local supply chain can reap the benefit of this wind farm.”
