Farranrory Windfarm

About the Project

Farranrory Wind Farm is a proposed development of nine wind turbines, at Farranrory, The Commons, Co. Tipperary. The wind farm, once operational, will have the capacity to generate 43.2 MW of clean electricity and is expected to be operational by the summer of 2026. Farranrory Wind Farm is being progressed by Ørsted, a renewable energy company with its Irish base in Cork City, from where it employs over 100 staff. Ørsted operates a portfolio of renewable energy projects across the island of Ireland, powering the equivalent of almost 250,000 homes.

Name: Farranrory Wind Farm
Location: County Tipperary
Capacity (MW): 45-50 MW
Number of Turbines: 9
Tip Height (metres): 150 m
Grid Connection: Underground Cable

Site overview

About Ørsted in Ireland

Ørsted is a renewable energy company taking action to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. We develop, construct, own and operate onshore and offshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted owns and operates 21 onshore wind farms across the island of Ireland providing 378MW of green electricity to the grid, with additional renewable projects in the construction and planning phases.

It’s our ambition to grow our capacity significantly over the next decade to support the Irish Government’s emission reduction targets. To achieve this, we aim to develop more than 1,000 MW new onshore assets, repower existing assets, enter into the Irish offshore market, and grow our presence in Ireland’s nascent energy storage market.

Project Updates

Work is continuing to progress at the Farranrory Wind Farm site. At present, approximately 75% of the roads on site are complete, and seven hardstands have been constructed. Foundation construction is also underway, while surveys and ground investigations are ongoing along the grid and turbine delivery routes. Environmental surveys and reporting have been completed and this has been submitted to Tipperary and Kilkenny County Councils. Work on the project is progressing in compliance with the requirements of Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI), the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and the environmental obligations contained within the planning consents with control measures monitored on a continuous basis.

Ørsted is committed to being a responsible developer of renewable energy and we strive to be good neighbours in all areas of our work. We encourage anyone in the vicinity of Farranrory Wind Farm to learn more about our projects, and the local economic, social, and environmental benefits of our developments to date, by visiting orsted.ie.

April 2025
Road closure Notice - 10 April 2025 to 5 June 2025

Key Design Considerations

A number of alternative sites, and alternative designs/ layouts were considered before the subject site and current layout was chosen. The key objective of the design process is to develop a proposal that will be suitable in the context of the local area whilst delivering the objectives of The Climate Action Plan 2019. A key consideration in this is the distance between houses and turbines and whilst the current wind energy guidelines stipulate a minimum set back distance of 500m, the setback distances on this project have been increased to at least 600m from houses in the local area.

Another key principle in the design process has been to minimise environmental impacts. The site selection process involved avoiding sensitive sites such as Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas. Additional design considerations included the sensitivity of the habitat on the site, archaeological constraints, ground stability and landscape sensitivities. The area proposed for the Farranrory Wind farm is described as an area “Open for Consideration” in the South Tipperary County Development Plan 2009 (As Varied).

Local Community

Farranrory Wind Farm has the potential to bring significant positive benefits to its local communities. The project will support sustainable local employment, it will contribute annual rates to the local authority and it will provide opportunity for local community investment in the project in line with the new Renewable Energy Support Scheme (RESS).

Community Fund

Establishing a community fund that will be administered by a management committee. The management committee will have responsibility for managing the fund and will support local projects, clubs, schools, a parish fund, education grants, tourism projects, sports clubs, benevolent funds and efficiency programmes.

Employment

Supporting Development and Employment. For instance, the proposed wind farm would represent an investment of €60m and would directly bring c.20 jobs to an area at construction stage and support up to 6 jobs at operational stage.

Rural Development

Supporting Rural Development. The participation by groups of landowners in wind farm projects is a form of rural diversification that can help increase farm incomes. Local services, suppliers and products will be used where possible during the construction and operation of this wind farm.

Near Neighbourhood Scheme

As part of the Community Fund, Orsted is proposing a Near Neighbour Scheme offering an annual contribution towards the domestic electricity costs of households living in the immediate vicinity of the wind farm. Priority will be given to the nearest neighbours who live close to the project.

Environmental Benefits

Renewable

It is widely accepted that wind energy remains the most efficient and cheapest renewable energy source, providing the best option for decarbonisation of the electricity system. The decarbonising potential of wind energy is significant, for example, a 45MW wind farm would reduce carbon emissions by 70,000 tonnes per annum and contribute significantly to targets for a low carbon economy. The energy produced would power the equivalent of 25,000 homes with renewable energy.

Sustainable

Ireland is currently 86% reliant on fossil fuel. The avoidance of these imports increases our security of supply as an island for our energy needs, reduces imports and therefore decreases balance of foreign payments making our domestic economy stronger for alternative enterprise development and other social needs. The benefits of electricity generation from wind are its contribution to environmental sustainability and displacement of imported fossil fuels. Wind energy allows Ireland to maintain competitive energy prices which is important in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI).

Fossil Alternative

The indirect effects of the substitution of fossil fuel burning and reduced emissions of atmospheric pollutants are important and positive. Typically, a 45MW wind farm would replace 45 million litres of imported oil and 400,000 tonnes of imported coal and prevent the following emissions that would be produced from traditional fossil fuel sources:

Carbon Dioxide: 70,000 tonnes/year
Sulphur Dioxide: 1,380 tonnes/year
Nitrogen Dioxide: 415 tonnes/year