Nordex to build Ireland

Nordex has started construction works of the Knockacummer wind farm for the state-owned Irish utility Bord Gáis Eireann.

In the end of 2012, the utility again opted for Nordex strong-wind turbines and placed an order for 35 N90/2500 wind turbines for the Knockacummer wind farm.

The contract provides for the turn-key completion of the wind farm including foundation work, access routes, electrical-cabling and grid connection. In addition, Bord Gáis Eireann had signed a Nordex Premium Service contract for a period of fifteen years.

 

Construction of foundation work and access routes started in April 2013 with first turbines expected to be shipped from Nordex’s production facility to County Cork in the South of Ireland in September 2013. The turbines will be installed in a forested region close to the village of Rockchapel. Upon completion beginning of 2014, Knockacummer will be Ireland’s largest installed wind farm with a nominal output of 87.5 megawatts. Comprising 35 turbines, the wind farm is exposed to annual average wind speeds of 8 m/s and will generate around 296,977 MWh of clean electricity for approximate 74,000 homes.

 

“This wind farm marks the continuation of our success story in Ireland and we see it as a token of trust in our wind turbine technology on the part of our long-standing customer Bord Gáis Eireann,” says Lars Bondo Krogsgaard, a member of Nordex SE’s Management Board. Bord Gáis Eireann is Ireland’s largest natural gas utility and is currently operating wind farms with a total installed capacity of over 200 MW. Knockacummer is the fourth and largest project to be executed by the two companies. On completion of Knockacummer, Bord Gáis Eireann will be operating Nordex wind turbines with a total capacity of 185 MW.

 

Nordex installed its first turbine in Ireland in 2002, establishing a local subsidiary Nordex Energy Ireland Ltd in Swords, Co. Dublin in 2010. Today, 132 wind turbines with a total capacity of 325 MW are in operation on the Emerald Isle. The producer’s installed capacity in this country will increase to 427 MW with the completion of Knockacummer and other projects currently being executed.