Ecotricity breezes into Northern Ireland with 4.6MW wind park

27/02/2013

Two turbine facility at Michelin factory in Ballymena follows similar sized development at company's Dundee plant.

Two turbine facility at Michelin factory in Ballymena follows similar sized development at company's Dundee plant

Green energy provider Ecotricity has this week opened its first "wind park" in Northern Ireland, after completing the installation of two wind turbines at Michelin's trye factory in Ballymena, County Antrim.

The new 4.6MW facility is now successfully generating electricity and is expected to provide power to the factory equivalent to that used by up to 3,500 homes. Any excess power not used by the manufacturing plant will be fed into the local grid.

The project marks the second time Ecotricity has installed wind turbines for Michelin, following the successful installation of two turbines at the company's factory in Dundee in 2006.

It also represents a boost to the company's strategy of working with companies to erect onsite large scale turbines that are then capable of providing energy to industrial or business facilities.

"Building wind power on-site and supplying it directly to a factory not only cuts carbon emissions, but because you don't need to transport the electricity via the grid - it cuts energy costs too," said Ecotricity chief executive Dale Vince in a statement. "This is a way to make businesses more competitive and more environmentally sustainable at the same time."

His comments were echoed by Wilton Crawford, Factory Manager at Michelin Ballymena, who predicted the two 79 metre tall turbines would "help alleviate the challenge of increased energy costs, particularly as energy prices in Northern Ireland far surpass those in Europe".

The project represents another encouraging milestone for Ecotricity, which earlier this month secured planning permission for its largest wind farm to date - the proposed 22 turbine development at Heckington Fen in Lincolnshire.

By Le My

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