SSE Renewables has taken the wraps off a hybrid solar-battery project to be located at its Richfield wind farm in County Wexford, Ireland.
The project, a 21MW PV array and 10MW storage scheme, will be the developer’s first move into solar energy generation and associated battery storage in Ireland
The 18-turbine Richfield has been in operation since 2006.
The proposed solar farm would be located in the townlands of Hooks and Yoletown while the proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) would be co-located adjacent to the existing substation at the 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 generation sources.
Onshore renewables development and construction director Heather Donald said: “We’re taking action at SSE Renewables to deliver the clean energy the world needs right now.
“At Richfield in County Wexford we’ve identified an ideal opportunity, located in Ireland’s ‘Sunny South East’, to further explore how we can co-locate solar, battery and wind farm technology to realise our full homegrown renewable energy potential.
“The proposed development can generate new solar power for immediate use, while also storing surplus renewable energy in a battery storage system for use when it’s needed most. The result is that this co-location project at Richfield can help export greater levels of renewable energy output to the national grid and contribute to Ireland’s target of generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.”