SSE Renewables is aiming to develop a new solar farm project on its existing Richfield Wind Farm in Wexford.

The energy company is aiming to submit a planning application to Wexford County Council this week for the 21MW solar farm on a 108ac site in the townlands of Hooks and Yoletown in south Wexford.

The proposed solar farm location is near the existing 18-turbine Richfield Wind Farm, which has been in operation since 2006. The application follows a period of local public consultation on the project, which took place earlier this year.

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Richfield

With an installed capacity of 27MW, Richfield Wind Farm is already capable of generating enough renewable electricity to supply up to 18,000 homes annually, while abating almost 18,000t of carbon dioxide per annum.

Together, the proposed hybrid co-located development of a 21MW solar farm alongside the existing wind farm could increase the typical annual renewable energy output from Richfield by around 25%, enough to power an additional 4,500 Irish homes annually.

Hybrid

The proposed solar development will have a hybrid grid connection with Richfield Wind Farm.

The development of the project will be subject to changes in Ireland’s current grid connection consenting regime to allow for ‘hybrid’ technology grid connections to facilitate co-location of wind and solar generation sources.

Delivery of the project is also subject to securing an economic route to market ahead of a final investment decision expected around early 2026.

Woodland

Should the project secure all its consents and progress to delivery, SSE Renewables will plant 15% of the site area with native woodland species as per its own biodiversity net gain targets and also in line with requirements set out in the Wexford County Development Plan 2022-2028.

SSE Renewables portfolio includes almost 700MW of operational onshore wind farms, the largest on the island, as well as a development pipeline of 1.3GW of new projects across offshore wind, onshore wind, solar and batteries.