Rhode Wind Farm now operating commercially

One of Ireland's newest onshore wind farms, the Yellow River Wind Farm in Rhode has entered full commercial operations.

The windfarm produced its first power when connecting to the national grid in December last, and this week the project developer, SSE Renewables, confirmed the the plant is now fully operational.

The 101MW, 29-turbine wind farm reached full power following the successful completion of planned upgrade works by EirGrid at the existing nearby Derryiron 110kV Transmission Station, enabling the development to move to a firm grid connection.

SSE Renewables said that, now that it's fully operational, Yellow River is capable of generating enough homegrown clean energy to power the equivalent of almost 75,000 homes annually while displacing nearly 70,000 metric tonnes of harmful carbon emissions each year, helping to contribute to Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets.

A community benefit fund has also been put in place as part of the Yellow River Wind Farm project.

"SSE is working hard to turn Ireland’s ambitions for climate action and energy security into reality, and the completion of the country’s newest onshore wind farm at Yellow River is the latest demonstration of our commitment," stated Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Renewables.

Yellow River Wind Farm's power has been contracted under a 16.5-year contract for low carbon generation from the Irish Government. Over the lifetime of this contract, SSE said it would deliver "multi-million euro" funding to local initiatives, projects, clubs and amenities through the community fund.

Construction of Yellow River began in October 2022, with delivery and installation of 29 Nordex N117/3600 wind turbines commencing in December 2023.

At peak delivery, the project supported up to 150 full-time construction phase jobs at the site, representing around 400,000 recorded working hours at the site across main contractors and SSE employees.