SSE Airtricity presents 15th annual community fund to groups near Corneen Wind Farm

SSE Airtricity, Ireland’s leading green energy provider, has awarded over €5,000 to four community groups close to its Corneen Wind Farm in Co. Cavan. The company has been awarding funding to local groups since 2002, and this latest presentation takes its total contribution in the area to €90,000.

Through its Community Fund programme, SSE Airtricity makes annual contributions to community groups in the vicinity of its wind farms. This year’s Corneen Community Fund was presented at the Templeport Resource Centre in Ballyconnell on Thursday 7 December.

This year, the funding has been awarded to four forward-thinking community projects in the Bawnboy area. Bawnboy Workhouse Ltd will be putting their funding towards fitting new windows at their building, while the local Men’s Shed will use the money for new tools. St. Aidan’s National School is undertaking a project to install energy-efficient LED lighting, and the Bawnboy Tidy Towns Committee will put the contribution towards an E-Bike for the village.

Dymphna Hayden, Secretary of Bawnboy Workhouse Ltd, said: “Over the last number of years, we’ve been working hard to make improvements to the workhouse building and turn it into a landmark for the local area. We’re delighted with the contributions from SSE Airtricity, which have enabled us to complete a number of important projects. In previous years the funding has allowed us to install solar panels, and this year it will help us fit new windows in the laundry block, further improving our energy efficiency.”

Anne Reynolds, SSE Airtricity Community Development Officer, commented: “We’re very proud to be making a difference in the local area, awarding funding from our Corneen Wind Farm for the fifteenth year running. It’s great to see the positive impact the funding has had in that time, and we’re delighted to be contributing to four forward-thinking and important community projects again this year.”

SSE Airtricity has a total of four wind farms in counties Cavan and Monaghan, and has now awarded more than €1.2 million in community funding in the counties since 2002.