Meentycat wind farm explained

Meentycat wind farm is a wind farm located north of Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland. Erected in 2004, it was Ireland's largest wind farm when it opened in 2005.[1] Originally owned by Airtricity (later SSE Airtricity),[2] as of 2020 it was run by SSE Renewables.[3]

Turbines

Located near Ballybofey in County Donegal, the wind farm has 38 Siemens Wind Power wind turbines.[4] These 23×2.3 megawatt and 15×1.3 megawatt turbines give a total of 72.4 megawatts.[4] With these 38 turbines, spread over five sites, Meentycat wind farm generates enough electricity to power the equivalent of approximately 45,000 homes a year, with CO2 savings approaching 200,000 tonnes per year.

Power from the turbines is transmitted to the national grid via a 110kV substation located at Meentycat, a 5km 110kV overhead line and a 110kV substation at Drumkeen to the east of the wind farm. As of 2009, it was the largest wind farm (by electricity generated) in Ireland.[5] It is now owned by SSE Renewables, part of SSE plc.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ireland's largest wind farm opens in Co Donegal . Irish Times . irishtimes.com . 27 April 2005 . 19 November 2022 .
  2. Web site: Airtricity opens Meentycat wind farm . RTÉ . rte.ie . 27 April 2005 .
  3. Web site: Green light for wind farm on outskirts of Letterkenny . donegalnews.com . 6 August 2020 . 19 November 2022 . SSE Renewables owns and operates a number of wind farm sites adjacent to Lenalea, collectively known as Meentycat .
  4. Web site: Meentycat . airtricity.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20060507161509/http://www.airtricity.com/ireland/wind_farms/republic_of_ireland/operating/meentycat/ . 7 May 2006 .
  5. Web site: Meentycat wind farm in County Donegal, is Ireland's largest single wind farm. sse.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20140704161925/https://www.sse.com/whatwedo/ourprojectsandassets/renewables/meentycat/ . 4 July 2014 .