Statkraft enters Irish solar foray with 320MW deal

Nordic renewables giant Statkraft has confirmed its entry into Ireland’s nascent solar power market, acquiring nine solar projects in the country.

The portfolio has a combined generation capacity of 320MW and were described as “at an advanced stage of development” by the state-owned company today.

Several of the projects will also participate in Ireland’s forthcoming Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auctions, which have now been planned for some time.

The 320MW of solar will build on Statkraft’s already sizeable renewables position in Ireland. The power company has around 1.25GW of onshore wind and 500MW of offshore wind in the country, however Statkraft Ireland managing director Kevin O’Donovan said the country would need a diverse portfolio of assets to meet its climate targets.

Ireland established its climate action plan this summer, outlining an aim of deriving 70% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

“The acquisition of this 320MW of solar energy further diversifies our own portfolio and continues our upward growth trajectory.

“Each MW of these developments will be necessary if we are going to be successful in tackling climate change. Work carried out to date has ensured that the Irish electricity grid system is operating successfully with renewable energy levels of up to 65% at any given time which proves that we are not that very far away from having a grid system which can be run almost exclusively on renewable energy," O’Donovan said.

The portfolio was purchased from JBM Solar, a solar developer with previous experience bringing utility-scale and rooftop solar projects to market in Ireland and the UK.