Energia Group partnership with Microsoft delivers first onshore wind farm

Irish utility Energia Group has announced that the Drumlins Park wind farm has started commercial operations and a power purchase agreement with Microsoft has been signed.

The new 49MW wind farm, located near Newbliss in Co Monaghan, consists of eight wind turbines supplied by GE Renewable Energy.

Drumlins Park wind farm is the first project to reach commercial operations under a strategic framework agreement signed between Energia Group and Microsoft in 2022.

The framework agreement will enable Energia to construct and operate a large portfolio of new onshore wind farms and solar projects in Ireland that will supply new renewable electricity to the national grid.

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Ian Thom, CEO of Energia Group said: "This new wind farm is an important milestone for Energia Group, as well as for our collaboration with Microsoft, as it is the first wind farm to be delivered as part of our framework agreement. It is a further example of our commitment to powering Ireland's energy transition, delivering new energy infrastructure to support the achievement of Ireland’s climate targets. I look forward to continuing our collaboration with Microsoft, unlocking substantial growth in our renewable generation portfolio and delivering clean electricity for the island of Ireland.”

Lavinia Morris, general manager, EMEA Data Centre Operations, Microsoft commented: “At Microsoft, we are committed to supporting the decarbonisation of energy grids in the markets where we operate. The commercial operation of the Drumlins Park wind farm is one of a number of projects coming online as a result of 900MWs of renewable energy projects that we announced in late 2022.

"This is another important step in our journey to transition to 100% renewable energy supply for all our data centres, buildings, and campuses around the world. As we seek to achieve a more sustainable future, Microsoft looks forward to continued collaboration with Energia to add net new clean energy capacity to Ireland’s energy grid.”

A Community Benefit Fund of approximately €270,000 ($294,000) per year will be put in place at Drumlins Park wind farm equivalent to €2 ($2.2) for every MWh generated by the project. The allocation of funds by way of annual grants will be administered by an independent third party and involve a locally appointed Community Committee, that will be established in the coming months.