Bord na Móna - Source Issue 11 - (Page 8)
WHEN COMPLETED, THE
MOUNT LUCAS WINDENERGY
PROJECT IN
EAST OFFALY WILL BE
ONE OF THE BIGGEST
WIND FARMS IN IRELAND
AND BRITAIN. IN TIME,
28 WIND TURBINES WILL
PROVIDE ECO-FRIENDLY
ELECTRICITY FOR 45,000
IRISH HOUSEHOLDS
MIDLAND
I
n December, Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte
TD turned the sod on Bord na Móna’s
wind-energy project in Mount Lucas. It
marked the investment of €115 million by the
company in a project that has the potential to be
Ireland’s biggest investment in wind farms.
Based on 1,100 hectares on the Tullamore to
Edenderry road in Co. Offaly, the wind farm is
located on a bogland area that ceased
production almost 12 years ago.
With a planned 28 wind turbines, the wind
farm will have the capacity to generate 80MW of
electricity for the Irish national grid.
“The turbines have a 3MW rating and will be
supplied by our contractor, Siemens,” said
Brendan Connolly, project manager for Mount
8 | Source Spring 2013
Lucas and Bruckana wind farms.
Bord na Móna’s experience with wind farms
goes back 20 years when it opened the 7MW
wind farm at Bellacorrick in Co. Mayo. Today,
PowerGen has a target of developing 1,000MW
of wind energy on cutaway bogs by 2020.
Some preliminary work was carried out on the
site in 2012 and, over the course of the planning
process, a constructive relationship was
developed with Offaly County Council.
Accommodation works that were carried out on
access routes to the site will be of benefit to the
local community, namely the upgrading of roads,
including the Main Street in Daingean, all of
which was financed and project managed by
Bord na Móna.
POWER
Work is underway on building the foundations
for the turbines and on building a 110KV
sub-station on site that will be looped into the
new 110KV transmission line being developed
independently by Eirgrid. Running along the
site’s southern boundary, Mount Lucas will tap
into it and the handover to Eirgrid, scheduled for
May, will be a key milestone. Turbine delivery
will commence at the end of 2013 and it is
expected that the wind farm will be fully
operational in May 2014.
Overall, the size of Mount Lucas heralds the
capacity of Bord na Móna to build such a
large-scale project in the Midlands, which is a
useful barometer for other projects to export
electricity to the UK.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 11
Bord na Móna - Source Issue 11
Contents
News From
Crisis Management
Midland Power
Clean Energy Future
The Need for Change
The Gathering
Game On
Developments In
Heritage Corner
A Nationwide Spotlight
Bord na Móna - Source Issue 11
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