Construction has begun on a €5m solar farm at Aurivo’s facility in Ballaghaderreen, in a project aimed at significantly increasing the co-operative’s use of renewable energy.

We are delivering the project under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Aurivo and this will be one of Ireland’s largest privately funded commercial solar projects.

The 5MW ground-mounted solar farm will comprise 7,784 solar panels and is expected to generate 4.7 million kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity annually. Once operational, it will reduce the site’s reliance on grid electricity and cut carbon emissions by more than 1,000 tonnes a year.

The project represents an investment of more than €5m and is due to be completed in late 2026.

The solar farm, which is located on a 5.78-hectare site at Lung, Ballaghaderreen, received planning permission from Roscommon County Council in May 2023. The development is expected to have a 30-year lifespan.

The Ballaghaderreen project forms part of a wider sustainability and energy strategy being rolled out by Aurivo across several locations.

Aurivo is one of the largest agricultural co-operatives in Ireland and a major employer in Ballaghaderreen, where roughly 100 people work at its dairy processing facility.

The site is supplied by approximately 1,000 dairy farming families and exports products to around 50 countries.

Marty Dervin, project manager at Aurivo, said the solar farm would play an important role in reducing the company’s carbon footprint while lowering its exposure to future energy price volatility.

Paul Martin, our chief executive of VERDE Energy Group, said power purchase agreements remove “one of the biggest barriers to renewable energy adoption” by eliminating the need for significant upfront capital investment.

He said the model allows businesses to benefit from locally generated renewable electricity, greater energy price certainty and lower carbon emission.

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