Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) has commenced work on a £7 million solar farm to supply electricity to its Dunore Water Treatment works in South Antrim.
When completed the 33-acre site on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh will produce a peak output of 4.99MW.
The project is expected to save the company more than half a million pounds in energy costs annually. As well as meeting the energy needs of the Dunore site, the project will also enable the company to contribute spare capacity to the grid.
Dunore is NI Water’s third largest site in terms of energy consumption, accounting for 7 per cent of the company’s annual usage.
Sara Venning, chief executive of NI Water, said: “As the largest user of electricity in Northern Ireland, we are committed to limiting our impact on the environment. NI Water expects to increase our electricity consumption from renewable sources from currently around 13 per cent to 40 per cent in 2020/21. This project will make a significant contribution towards our ability to achieve that stretching goal.”
She added: “NI Water recognises the opportunity that recent and future change in the electricity market and associated technologies represent. The Dunore Solar Farm is an important element in our strategy to deliver benefit for our customers and environment.”
NI Water has reduced its annual expenditure on electricity by £5 million over the last three years.
The scheme will also assist the company in achieving the strategy outlined in its PC15 business plan. It aims to reduce the production of greenhouse gases from operations and become more energy efficient.
Work is expected to be completed on the site by March 2018.