Renewable energy company Lightsource has launched a 30-acre solar farm on the Crookedstone road near Antrim. The site is adjacent to Belfast International Airport and will supply approximately 27% of the airport’s annual electricity needs through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

The site contains 18,000 solar panels, which are made up of silicon-based photovoltaic cells. The panels cover around one-third of the site and the land will be sewn out in grass with the potential to graze sheep between and below the raised panels.

The project is funded and operated by Lightsource. The renewable energy company also owns the land that the site is situated on. Other projects developed by the company in Britain are on land rented from farmers over a 25-year period and the company is trying to develop similar projects in NI and in the Republic of Ireland.

The PPA with Belfast International Airport allows Lightsource to sell electricity at a higher rate than it would by exporting power to the national grid. However, a grid connection is still present to export electricity when supply is greater than the airport’s demand. The company also receives payment through the Northern Ireland Renewable Obligation incentive. However, this is due to close to new solar projects from April 2017.

Watch an interview with Lightsource chief executive Nick Boyle and footage of the site shot from a drone below:

A further report on the Crookedstone solar farm will feature in next Thursday'sedition of the Irish Farmers Journal.