Gaelectric, the Irish renewable energy company, has received planning approval for a 11.5 megawatt (MW) wind farm at Cregganconroe, Pomeroy, County Tyrone. The wind farm development will consist of five wind turbines and will be capable of generating energy equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of approximately 6500 homes.
The Cregganconroe wind farm will require a total investment of approximately Eur22 million, and is just one of a number of projects that Gaelectric currently has in planning in Northern Ireland, which together total approximately 130MW.
“We have been working on planning for a range of sites in Tyrone and Antrim for a number of years. The Cregganconroe approval is a further important step for Gaelectric and represents our second planning success in Northern Ireland this year,” says Brendan McGrath, chief executive of Gaelectric.
Gaelectric has already been granted planning permission to construct a 14 megawatt wind farm at Carn Hill near Knockagh. Work on this project is due to start in mid 2011, with construction expected to take between four and six months to complete.
Gaelectric currently has 25 projects at different stages of development on the island of Ireland. Gaelectric’s first wind farm in Roscommon is expected to be commissioned by year end 2010.