Irish renewable energy business Amarenco plans to have first irish solar farms built by the summer

According to co-founder and CEO John Mullins, renewable energy business Amarenco has announced plan to complete the development of eight solar sites in Ireland by the end of the summer as it prepares for the next government-led renewable energy support scheme (RESS).

The projects are expected to cost in the region of €32m to build and Irish business Amarenco is seeking approval for approximately 30MW of projects in the next auction that commences later in April. This will be second auction managed by the semi-State transmission operator EirGrid. 

During the first auction, 114 projects applied for support under the RESS. The scheme was introduced to support Ireland in reaching its target of generating 70% of its electricity requirements from sources of renewable energy by 2030. 

The auction provides awards selected projects with capacity on the electricity network, as well as a guaranteed price for the electricity generated.

Mr Mullins hopes Amarenco will be successful in the auction and gain support for its solar projects in Co Cork and Co Waterford. He expalins the company is finalising financing for the development of its first 40MW of projects. 

Amarenco intend to have the physcial construction of these assets completed by August, but Mr Mullins points out that it is up to the ESB to connect them.

The solar modules for the farms have been ordered from China, with Amarenco selected Trina as the module provider. The solar sites, all located in Co Cork will each generate up to 5MW of power.

Amarenco has additional assets in France and Iberia and has confirmed it has plans for further development in Oman, Thailand, Taiwan and Egypt. The solar business intends to have as much as 500MW of projects under construction or in the final starges of development in Iberia by the end of the year.

Their target is to reach 30GW of operational projects by 2030 and 50GW by 2050, with a number of markets outside of Ireland providing great opportunities for the business. Amarenco also recently acquired a 50MW solar site in Spain and 148MW of projects in Portugal.