Ørsted has completed the acquisition of the Ballinrea solar project in Cork, Ireland. With this acquisition, the company is taking another step towards its climate goals.
Ballinrea Solar Farm, Ørsted’s latest acquisition
Ørsted has completed the acquisition of the Ballinrea solar photovoltaic project in Ireland from experienced renewable energy developer Terra Solar. The 65 MW solar project will be located in Cork, Ireland’s second largest city. In addition, it will become Ørsted’s first solar project in the country.
Ballinrea Solar Farm is expected to generate enough green energy to power up to 16,000 Irish homes. This represents the equivalent of almost all the new homes to be built in Cork City by 2028.
Kieran White, vice president Europe Onshore at Ørsted, says:
“The transaction marks an important milestone as it is the first Irish solar project acquisition for the company. This project will make a significant contribution to Ireland’s national energy target of 80% renewable electricity by 2030 […]. We are excited to work with Terra Solar to accelerate our solar journey in Ireland.”
Expanding its renewable energy portfolio
Ørsted wants to create “a world powered entirely by green energy”. To this end, the company develops, builds and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms and energy storage facilities.
Ballinrea Solar Farm will thus contribute to Ørsted’s ambition to expand its global portfolio to a mix of wind and solar PV capacity of approximately 50/50 by 2030.
Since last June, the company also aims to develop a portfolio of solar projects in Spain through its collaboration with four local partners.
On a global scale, it therefore has around 5 GW of capacity in operation and under construction in the fields of onshore wind, solar and storage. Specifically, Ørsted has 1.3 GW of solar energy. As a result, the company is on track to reach a total of 17.5 GW of onshore capacity worldwide by 2030.
