Scoil Éanna National School in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan received €4,000 from the SSE Renewables Community Fund towards COVID-19 measures to enable the school re-open safely last September.
SSE Renewables is supporting community groups to power local change as they open the 2021 Community Funds for Bindoo and Gartnaneane Wind Farms in Co. Cavan, and Mullananalt Wind Farm in Co. Monaghan.
Since SSE Renewables launched its Community Funds in Cavan and Monaghan in 2006, over €1.6 million has been awarded to local groups in these areas. A total of 52 community groups shared in the €120,000 fund last year, including schools, sports clubs and community centres.
Applications to the 2021 SSE Renewables Community Fund are open from now and until 30 July for community-based projects within a 20km radius of Cavan and Monaghan wind farms, with preference given to projects within five kilometers.
SSE Renewables is the leading developer, owner and operator of onshore wind in Ireland, and is the power behind leading green energy power supplier, SSE Airtricity. It operates over 700MW of onshore wind farms in locations across the country, including Ireland’s largest wind farm, the 174MW Galway Wind Park in Connemara, County Galway. SSE has invested €3.8 billion in the Irish economy since entering the market in 2008.
Through its annual Community Fund programme, SSE Renewables has awarded almost €9m so far to over 3,600 community projects in the communities closest to its wind farms. This funding has helped support local groups, sports organisations and schools among others to develop their facilities with energy efficiency and sustainability upgrades, as well as social and environmental projects that enable community development.
Two non-profit organisations which have benefitted from SSE Renewables funding from wind farms in Cavan and Monaghan are Kill Shamrocks GAA Club, Co. Cavan, which received €2,500 to retrofit new more efficient floodlighting LED bulbs, and Scoil Éanna National School in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan which received €4,000 towards COVID-19 measures to enable the school re-open safely last September.
Kill Shamrocks GAA Club, Co. Cavan, received €2,500 from the SSE Renewables Community Fund to retrofit new more efficient floodlighting LED bulbs.
This year marks a change in the name of the funding programme. Previously promoted under the SSE Airtricity brand, the programme will now be known as the SSE Renewables Community Fund. The change is designed to better link annual funding award payments from SSE’s wind farms in Ireland to SSE Renewables, which owns and operates each of the company’s wind farm sites.
Speaking at the launch of the Fund, Anne Reynolds, SSE Renewables Community Liaison Office, said: “We know from our work in the areas in which we operate that local community groups are at the heart of all the good work being done to support people and improve their lives. They are also at the forefront of bringing innovation to their community to make them more sustainable. That is why the SSE Renewables Community Fund has been so successful as it supports, energizes and helps invigorate the communities around our wind farms.
“We are delighted to have invested more than €1.6 million since 2006 in the communities around Bindoo, Gartnaneane and Mullanault wind farms. We look forward to welcoming new applications this year and building new partnerships with the 2021 SSE Renewables Community Fund.”
SSE Renewables’ three wind farms in counties Cavan and Monaghan have a total generation capacity of 70MW, and produce enough clean, green energy to power over 30,000 homes in the region.
The closing date for the SSE Renewables Community Fund for Bindoo and Gartnaneane Wind Farms in Co. Cavan, and for Mullananalt Wind Farm in Co. Monaghan, is 5 pm on 30 July, 2021.
For more information on how to apply, visit www.sserenewables.com/communityfund or contact the Community Fund Manager via email at [email protected].