Obton and Shannon Energy intend spending €300 million over three years on building solar farms that will generate up to 500MW of electricity.
Barry O'Halloran, Irish Times, Wednesday 8th Jan 2020
Danish group Obton and Irish company Shannon Energy plan to spend €300 million building plants that will generate electricity from solar power in the Republic.
Obton and Shannon Energy said on Wednesday that they had formed a joint venture to develop solar farms, which use panels of specially manufactured cells to convert the sun’s heat to electricity, in the Republic.
The pair intend spending €300 million over three years on building solar farms that will generate up to 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity, creating about 1,000 jobs in the process.
Obton chief executive Anders Marcus said the Danish company would provide most of the cash, while Shannon Energy would provide local expertise and do much of the work on the ground.
The joint venture has earmarked sites in counties Cork, Galway, Longford, Tipperary and Westmeath where it will instal solar panels capable of producing 150MW of electricity, enough energy to cover the yearly consumption of 25,000 homes.
Mr Marcus said the business was in talks with farmers about acquiring other sites around the Republic where it could instal the remaining 350MW. Overall it will need 2,000 acres for its plan.
Government support
Government promises to launch a new scheme to provide cash support to renewable energy projects, mainly wind and solar power, helped lure Obton to the Republic, according to Mr Marcus.
He pointed out that renewable energy still needed a “bit of back up to make sense investment-wise” so proposals for the scheme were a factor in Obton’s decision to invest here.
“The way it is structured, with an auction system, is the right way to ensure that people do not pay too much for electricity,” Mr Marcus added.
All electricity users, including homes and businesses, will fund the Government’s proposed Renewable Energy Support Scheme through a public service obligation charge on their bills.
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