More than €250k now awarded by SSE Airtricity to community groups in Co. Wexford

SSE Airtricity, Ireland’s leading green energy generator, has awarded more than €23,000 to community groups close to its Richfield Wind Farm in Co. Wexford.

Through its Community Fund programme, the company has been supporting local projects in Co. Wexford since 2007, and this latest presentation takes the total amount awarded to date in the county to over €258,000.

This year’s presentation took place at the Stella Maris Community Centre in Kilmore Quay on Friday 11th May, with 11 community groups receiving funding, including schools, sports clubs and community associations.

The majority of the recipient groups will be putting this year’s contribution towards improving their energy efficiency measures, which SSE Airtricity strongly supports.

The funding will enable St. Fintan’s National School in Mayglass, Bridgetown, to upgrade the lighting at the school. School Principal Bernadette Leahy, said: “We’re delighted with the funding from SSE Airtricity. Upgrading our lighting with LED bulbs will not only make a real difference to our electricity bills, but it will also go a long way to helping us achieve the Green Flag for Energy, which we’re currently applying for.”

Energy-efficient lighting projects are also being supported at Kilmore GAA Club and Scoil Realt na Mara in Kilmore; Rathangan Parish Council and St. Anne’s GAA Club in Rathangan; and Teach Spraoi Community Playgroup in Taghmon. Other initiatives include repairs to the roof of the arena at Equine Connection in Duncormick, a beach clean-up for Wexford Sub Aqua Club in Kilmore Quay, and new doors at both Clearistown Hall Development Group and St. Anne’s National School in Rathangan.

Anne Reynolds, SSE Airtricity Community Development Officer, said: “We’re very proud to once again be awarding funding to so many fantastic community projects in the area. We’ve been supporting groups close to our Richfield Wind Farm for over a decade now, and it’s great to see the positive impact the funding has had over the years. As always, we’re delighted to see so much of the money going towards improvements in energy efficiency, which will hopefully result in long-term benefits for the community.”

SSE Airtricity’s Richfield Wind Farm has a total generation capacity of 27MW and produces enough renewable energy to power over 15,000 homes in the region.