Forestry company Coillte has concluded an agreement for the development of one of Ireland's largest wind projects, located in Co Galway.
The project, which is located on Coillte owned lands in Cloosh Valley near Moycullen, will see Scottish and Southern Energy take a 45 per cent stake along with State-owned Coillte, while Canadian firm Finavera Renewables retains the remaining 10 per cent share.
The first phase of the project includes 22 turbines that will generate about 50MW. The entire project has a total capacity of 105MW once completed, which will meet the electricity needs of more than 60,000 homes.
Coillte chief executive David Gunning said the company's position as the country's largest landowner meant it had an extensive range of sites that were suitable for wind farms throughout Ireland.
"We identified the potential of the Cloosh Valley site as part of our long term strategy to manage our assets in a sustainable way and to deliver on key national policy objectives," he said.
The Cloosh Valley wind farm has been in development for some time, with Coillte entering into partnership with Finavera in early 2009.
Coillte has a number of wind farms already situated on its land, with more than 400 MW of Gate 2 and 3 projects across the country.
