Solar farm to power NI Water plant
- Published
- comments
The solar farm will be made up of 27,000 solar panels
Northern Ireland Water has started building a £7m solar farm to power one of its key water treatment plants.
It is hoped the facility, on the shores of Lough Neagh, will be finished by March 2018.
It will see 27,000 solar panels built on a 33-acre site.
It is being developed next to the Dunore Water Treatment works, near Belfast International Airport in County Antrim.
NI Water expects to save half a million pounds per year in energy costs
NI Water says the solar farm will power the plant and any excess will be fed back into the grid.
It expects to save £500,000 per year in energy costs.
Chief Executive Sara Venning said it would allow the company to cut costs and reduce its carbon footprint.
"It's a win-win," she said.
Work is already under way at the site of the solar farm
The panels also generate power on overcast days.
Even in cloudy conditions, they can produce about a quarter of their generation capacity.
NI Water has a target of increasing its use of renewable energy from 13% to 40% by 2021.
About half of Northern Ireland's drinking water is taken from Lough Neagh
It is the first time NI Water has developed a large-scale renewable energy option.
Ms Venning said the company would look at the potential of doing something similar at other sites.
About half of Northern Ireland's drinking water is extracted from Lough Neagh.