Kildare's first ever solar farm to be up and running by end of 2024

Work on Kildare's first ever solar farm has begun with the development expected to be completed by the end of next year.

The joint venture between Bord na Móna and the ESB is being built in Timohoe in north Kildare. Yesterday, June 20, the two companies announced that Voltalia has been appointed as the main contractor for the project.

It's expected that the farm will deliver 108MWp of renewable energy to the national grid, once operational - that's enough to power around 25,000 homes.

Founded in France in 2005, International energy producer and service provider, Voltalia, has been contracted to carry out the engineering, procurement and construction contract of the solar farm over the next year.

The Timahoe North solar farm is part of a co-development agreement between Bord na Móna and ESB to develop solar power across four midlands locations in Kildare, Offaly and Roscommon. The joint venture will collectively deliver up to 500 MW of power from solar farms based on Bord na Móna lands. 

Bord na Móna's Head of Renewable Energy John Reilly said: “We are very excited to launch the construction phase of Timahoe North, Bord na Móna’s first solar energy farm in partnership with ESB. Bord na Móna has made significant progress across other areas of renewable energy to date, notably onshore wind, but in line with our Brown to Green Strategy and current government policy, we are committed to continued expansion and diversification of our renewable energy portfolio.

"While still in its infancy, the solar industry in Ireland has the potential to play a pivotal role in Ireland’s renewable energy future. We have ambitious plans, in conjunction with ESB, to produce an impressive 500 MW of solar power in the coming years and we believe this joint venture is an important step towards supporting national renewable energy requirements for 2030 and beyond.”

Jim Dollard, ESB Executive Director, Generation & Trading, said: “This project shows the importance that ESB is placing in solar and demonstrates our commitment to developing a growing portfolio of solar assets in Ireland. ESB has a proven record of delivering renewable energy projects at scale and we are looking forward to working with our partners Bord na Móna to deliver Timahoe North and other projects in the future as part of this joint venture. This project is part of ESB's wider investment in solar farms, and ESB expect to invest €200m over the next two years in the first phase of our solar roll out, as we move towards our ultimate goal of achieving Net Zero by 2040."