Once completed, the development will be Neoen’s first transmission-connected project in Ireland.
The Ballinknockane solar project is a 79MWp solar PV power plant under development in County Limerick, Republic of Ireland. The project was awarded a Contract for Difference (CfD) under Ireland’s RESS 2 auction in 2022, and once completed, will be the first utility-scale solar farm in County Limerick, and Neoen’s first transmission-connected projected in Ireland.
AFRY has now been appointed to provide the owner’s engineering services for the project, which include providing project management support, design review, and monitoring of the construction and commissioning phases of development. The Ballinknockane project, which began construction last month, is scheduled to be energised in mid-2026 and will be fully commissioned in H1 2027.
“We are pleased to have selected AFRY as our Owner’s Engineer for the construction of the Ballinknockane solar farm in Ireland. We are confident that their support will be key to the successful delivery of this ambitious project” said Cyril Perrin, managing director of Neoen Ireland.
Carlos Perez Galvan, head of wind & solar in Ireland and UK at AFRY, echoed this sentiment, adding: “We take pride in contributing to Ireland’s clean energy future, and this collaboration marks a significant step forward”.
Neoen is a French independent power producer (IPP) with an 8.4GW portfolio of solar, wind, and battery energy storage system (BESS) assets in operation or construction across 15 countries, including a 4.052GW solar portfolio. In Ireland alone, Neoen has a 190MW portfolio, including three solar farms with a combined 58MWp capacity.
In this year’s RESS 4 auction, Neoen saw major success, cementing the firm’s growth on the Emerald Isle. Neoen successfully secured 170MWp of solar projects in RESS 4 across two developments: the Johnstown North Solar project, a 29MWp development in County Wicklow, and Garr Solar, a 141MWp project in County Offaly. These two projects are expected to be commissioned in 2027 and 2028, respectively. In total, the RESS 4 auction saw 960MW of solar PV procured, as well as 374MW of onshore wind capacity.
In June, AFRY senior principal John Perkins spoke to our sister publication Energy-Storage.news about how the UK’s growing BESS fleet can help reduce market risk for CfD projects by reducing negative prices, which he called “a big risk” for generators. Perkins explained: “CfD wind receives fixed income per megawatt hour, but it is exposed to market risk on its imbalance costs. Greater storage deployment, and therefore a smoothing of imbalance prices, is a benefit to CfD generators. It helps reduce the costs associated with its forecast error and balancing.”
