Simon Coveney TD, Fine Gael Spokesperson on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, officially opened the Coomacheo and Curragh Wind Farms at Curragh Mountain, situated between Ballyvourney and Millstreet, Co. Cork on Friday (04/09/09)
The official opening marks the commission by Airtricity of the 18-turbine Coomacheo Wind Farm, and the completion of its 8-turbine Curragh Wind Farm extension.
Deputy Coveney was joined for the official opening by Stephen Wheeler, General Manager Ireland of Airtricity. Over 200 guests, including local landowners and public representatives, attended a celebration luncheon hosted by Airtricity at The Mills Inn, Ballyvourney, before embarking on guided tours of the wind farms where they had the opportunity to discover at first hand the power of wind generation and celebrate energy made better at Airtricity’s 26 turbine wind farm site.
Coomacheo and Curragh Wind Farms have a combined generation capacity of 59.8MW – enough electricity to power more than 40,000 homes and to prevent the release of between 70,000 and 165,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The energy generated at Coomacheo and Curragh will help ensure that Ireland meets its national targets of 40% renewables by 2020 and the EU’s mandatory 20% reduction in carbon emissions.
Members of the community attending today’s event were invited to register to switch to Airtricity and save up to 13% on domestic electricity rates. Airtricity now supplies over 90,000 customers with the greenest electricity in the Irish market, and, at up to 13% cheaper than the ESB, offers the consumer the cheapest standalone rates available in the Republic of Ireland.
About Airtricity
Airtricity is the renewable energy development division of Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE). The company has responsibility for the development and construction of all SSE Renewable projects across Europe, including onshore and offshore wind farms, hydro, marine and solar projects.
Airtricity and SSE’s goal is to protect the future of our planet by delivering renewable energy with passion, innovation and integrity. Airtricity is Ireland’s largest renewable energy developer and currently has 17 onshore wind farms in Ireland and Northern Ireland generating 378MW, enough electricity to power 180,000 households. The company has a total of 618MW of onshore wind farm capacity in Ireland in operation, in construction or with consent, and is actively progressing a significant development pipeline.
Airtricity is the No.1 supplier of greener energy in Ireland offering domestic and commercial customers an electricity supply that is not only low-cost but that also significantly reduces their carbon footprint. At Airtricity, 79% of the company’s electricity is from renewable sources ensuring its supply is the greenest in the market (Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) fuel mix report, published November 2008.) With a saving of up to 13% on ESB electricity rates, Airtricity’s rates are the cheapest standalone rates in the Republic of Ireland and, unlike other competitors, Airtricity is offering those savings on electricity consumption costs to all consumers in the country (percentage discount based on the ESB kilowatt hour rates). Airtricity supplies over 90,000 electricity customers in Ireland, and is currently running a heavyweight customer switching campaign to grow its customer base. The campaign is the largest that the renewable energy supplier has undertaken since it first entered the electricity supply market ten years ago.
