Ørsted’s board of directors has taken a final investment decision on the 16MW Amazon Wind Farm Northern Ireland - Ballykeel onshore wind farm in Northern Ireland.
Last month, the Danish developer also signed what it claims is Northern Ireland’s first ever long-term fixed-price corporate power purchase agreement (PPA). Retail giant Amazon agreed to buy all the power produced by the facility.
Ballykeel, in the north-eastern Antrim region, was acquired by Ørsted in June.
The developer expects the wind farm to be operational in 2023. It is yet to disclose what turbines will be used.
Kieran White, vice president and managing director of Ireland and UK onshore, for Ørsted, said: “This project is the first project in Northern Ireland to reach FID under a corporate PPA, which shows that it’s possible to add green power to the Northern Ireland grid in the absence of government subsidies for renewable projects.”
Ørsted re-entered the European onshore renewables business last April with an agreement to acquire a developer with a 1GW-plus onshore wind pipeline in the UK and Ireland. It agreed to buy a 100% interest in Brookfield Renewable's existing Ireland and UK onshore wind business, Brookfield Renewable Ireland (BRI).
The firm said today that it is also “continuously evaluating” opportunities in other European markets.
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