Ballinrea Solar Farm

Ballinrea Solar Farm is Ørsted’s first solar farm in Ireland

Ørsted acquired Ballinrea Solar Farm from renewable developer Terra Solar in 2022. Located between Carrigaline and Cork City, the 65MWp solar farm is expected to power up to 16,000 homes once it is operational. Construction is expected to start in 2024 with connection to the electricity grid being completed in 2025.

It comprises two sites, one in the townland of Ballinrea and the other in the townland of Ballinvuskig. Planning permission for the solar farms was received in 2019. A grid connection offer from EirGrid was accepted in 2022 to connect the two solar farms to the electricity grid via a single 110kV underground cable connection to ESB’s Raffeen Substation.

We are in the process of preparing planning applications to be submitted to Cork City and County Councils for minor amendments to the permitted solar farm layouts. These will allow for the now obsolete equipment included in the original applications to be updated. As part of these applications, we will be requesting permission to install an underground electricity cable (33kV) to interconnect the two sites. In addition, we are preparing a planning application for the 110kV grid connection to Raffeen Substation which will encompass the onsite 110kV substation, the 110kV underground cable to Raffeen and additional electrical infrastructure within Raffeen Substation. We are currently determining the most suitable route for the 110kV cable between the solar farms and Raffeen Substation

We will be engaging with local residents in the coming months and will share more information on the planning applications during this process. If you have any questions in the meantime, please call our Community Lead, Aidan Stakelum, on 086 103 7437.

Latest updates and news

Planning applications have been submitted to Cork City Council (Planning Reference: 23/41837) and County Council (Planning Ref: 23/04563) for minor amendments to the permitted solar farm layouts. These will allow for the now obsolete equipment included in the original applications to be replaced. The Ballinrea Solar farm amendment also includes an application for an underground 33kV electricity cable to connect the Ballinvuskig solar farm to Ballinrea solar farm.

A grid connection and substation are required to connect the permitted Solar Farm at Ballinrea (Pl. Ref. 17/674, ABP Ref. 303013) and the associated permitted solar farm at Ballinvuskig (Pl. Ref. 19/5371, ABP Ref. 305186) to the national grid. Following extensive consultation with landowners, the Cork Roads Department, the M28 team and EirGrid a satisfactory grid route corridor has been identified. The planning application for the 110kV grid connection to Raffeen Substation will include a 110kV substation at Ballinrea, the 110kV underground cable to Raffeen and additional electrical infrastructure within Raffeen Substation. This application is made directly to An Bord Pleanala as the proposed development has been determined to constitute Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID).

Grid Connection and Substation

The development comprises of the construction of a 110 kV substation at the permitted Ballinrea Solar Farm (Pl. Ref. 17/6784, ABP Ref. 303013), a tail fed underground grid connection from the proposed 110kV substation to the existing Raffeen 220 KV substation, a proposed new 110kV cable bay at the existing Raffeen 220kV Substation and associated works.

110kV Substation

The proposed 110 kV substation has been designed in accordance EirGrid’s functional specifications for 110 kV substations and comprises of a single bay extendable tail-fed type C substation, 1 no EirGrid Control Building,1 no. IPP Customer Control Building, and the electrical components necessary to transmit the electrical energy generated to the national grid. Works at the proposed substation also include lightning protection, perimeter security fencing, security lighting, drainage infrastructure, and a temporary construction compound.

Grid Connection

The proposed grid connection comprises of 110 kV tail fed underground electricity interconnector cables of c. 6.25 km in length to be provided in predominantly excavated trenches and include associated fibre cable, underground ducting, 9 no. joint bays, communication chambers and all associated site development and reinstatement works. The proposed grid route works are located in the townlands of Ballinrea, Ballinrea South, Ardnacloghy, Shannonpark, Hilltown, Carrigaline Middle, Ballyhemkien, Carrigaline East and Raffeen Co. Cork and will be carried out predominantly within the public road corridor.

What do Ørsted do?

The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is the first energy company in the world with a science-based net-zero emissions target as validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. As the world’s most sustainable energy company and a recognised global leader on climate action, Ørsted is committed to making a significant contribution towards the transition to a low-carbon future and consequently to helping Ireland to achieve its ambitious climate targets.

With rising energy costs becoming a major issue for people in Ireland throughout their day-to-day lives, there are clear benefits to be seen in the development of an indigenous renewable energy resource, like here in Ballinrea. This helps to secure Ireland’s independent future, by reducing our reliance on volatile and costly energy imports. Ørsted is further committed to contributing to this development and helping Ireland to position itself as a modern, low-carbon country powered by a secure, local energy generation network.

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