Danish multinational to proceed with building its third Tipperary wind farm

A Danish multi-national energy company has announced it’s to proceed with building a nine turbine wind farm near The Commons and Ballingarry and aims to have it fully operational by the summer of 2026.

Ørsted issued a statement last week outlining that it has taken its “Final Investment Decision” (FID) on the proposed Farranrory Onshore Wind Farm and the infrastructure needed to connect it to the grid.

The Final Investment Decision follows the project’s successful bid under the Irish Government’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 3 (RESS 3) auction last September.

This will be the company’s 22nd windfarm on the island of Ireland and its third in county Tipperary.
Ørsted’s other Tipperary windfarms are at Garracummer near Cashel and Lisheen near Templemore.

The company said the wind farm will have the capacity to generate 43.2 Megawatts of green electricity and is expected to power the equivalent of 25,000 Irish homes with renewable energy once completed.

CAPACITY

This will bring Ørsted’s operational capacity across solar power and onshore wind in Ireland and Northern Ireland to over 500 MW.  

Commenting on the Final Investment Decision, Kieran White, Senior Vice President of Onshore in Region Europe at Ørsted said: “Wind energy plays a pivotal role in the transition to renewable energy, and we’re proud to confirm that we’ll invest in our 22nd Irish wind farm.”  

“Our final investment decision is testament to our commitment to providing green energy to the Irish grid, driving down the cost of electricity for consumers, and contributing to Ireland’s overall energy independence.

“Pending grid connection, we look forward to seeing the wind farm in commercial operation by summer 2026,” he added.  
Another spokesman for Ørsted said the company couldn't release the cost of the investment in this new windfarm as that information is commercially sensitive.

And Ørsted could not say at this stage if the project will create any extra local employment as the company has yet to select a turbine manufacturer and contractor for the project.

PLANNING

Planning permission for the Farranrory Onshore Windfarm was approved by Tipperary County Council on October 11, 2022 with five conditions attached.

The council granted a 10 year planning permission to a company called Gromane Ltd for the windfarm.

According to the planning application, the windfarm will have a 40-year operational life from the date of its commissioning and will consist of nine wind turbines with a maximum tip blade height of 150m.

The windfarm will be located on the townlands of Farranrory Upper, Farranrory Lower, Coolnashinnagh and Gortnasmuttaun near The Commons and Ballingarry.

The development will also be near the the Tipperary/Kilkenny county border.

An amended planning application for the windfarm was approved by the Council on November 11 last year.

The changes the Council approved include increasing the maximum blade tip height from 150m to 156.5m and rotor diameter from 133m to 136m.

They also include reconfiguration of a number of the hardstand layouts and associated changes to internal access roads, minor adjustments to the red line boundary and the provision of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).