Lecale could lead EU in green energy plans

Lecale could lead EU in green energy plans

12 February 2014

HUGE strides have been taken this week towards making Lecale a European leader in renewable energy.

Planning approval has this week been granted to develop Northern Ireland’s first solar energy farm on the outskirts of Downpatrick at Bishopscourt, while an ambitious project to develop Lecale into a European-leading renewable energy hub was launched in Ardglass yesterday.

Both schemes will put Lecale at the top of the field of renewable energy production, leading to the creation of dozens of jobs in construction, administration and maintenance.

They are also

expected to give a significant regenerative boost to the area through the creation and export of economical and efficient green energy sources.

Environment Minister Mark Durkan

said the planning application for the £6m

solar energy farm at Tullynaskeagh Road had been given a speedy turnaround in demonstration of his commitment to supporting the green economy.

The solar farm will be constructed on 27 acres of land on a farm owned by Mr. David Chambers and will be capable of powering over 1,500 homes.

It will take four months to install more than 20,000 floor-to-ceiling height panels on the Bishopscourt farmland.

The company behind the project, BNRG, says it has plans to invest a further £30m in more solar energy projects in east Down, with the creation of up to 80 more jobs.

The plans to develop a renewable energy hub in Lecale, which were launched in Ardglass, contain ambitious proposals for an electricity micro-grid which will be fed by power created through a number of green projects on farms and factories across the district.

The main elements of this scheme are the development of up to three anaerobic digestion plants, which will create biogas through the disposal of animal waste; around half a dozen solar energy sites with extensive powerful solar panels; about 12 wind turbines; the development of a unique isothermal compressed air storage facility to store energy; a facility to reuse old batteries from electric cars and an ammonia production plant at Ardglass harbour.

It is also hoped that Ballyhornan could become the country’s first ‘electric village’ through the project, with homes and businesses fed cheap electricity directly from the microgrid, which could also fuel a fleet of electric cars for the community.

Mr. David Surplus, from energy firm B9 Energy, which is backing the Lecale energy project, said it was hoped that it would bring regeneration to the area.

“This will be led by the community of Ardglass, Ballyhornan and the farming community,” he said.

“That gives us a lot of strength.”