Landmark for Yellow River Wind Farm as final turbine installed on eve of Global Wind Day

SSE has reached a landmark milestone in the construction of its 101MW Yellow River onshore wind farm at Rhode in County Offaly, with the successful installation of the 29th and final turbine at the Midlands site.

This latest project milestone for Yellow River has been reached on the eve of tomorrow’s Global Wind Day (Saturday 15 June), the annual worldwide celebration of the power and possibilities of wind energy that takes place every 15 June.

Construction completion of the final turbine by SSE Renewables at the County Offaly site follows ongoing and close collaboration with turbine provider Nordex Group, which has supplied and safely installed each of the N117/3600 units at the wind farm.

The turbine installation campaign at Yellow River began in January of this year and has been delivered on schedule. Construction of the wind farm is on track to be completed later this Summer. Commissioning and testing of turbines will commence in the coming weeks and continue until the site becomes fully operational, which is expected in early 2025.

Once operational, Yellow River Wind Farm’s 29 turbines will deliver 101MW of renewable energy output and be capable of powering the equivalent of 67,000 homes annually while displacing 66,000 metric tonnes of carbon each year*. This vital renewable energy output will help contribute to Ireland’s 2030 renewable energy targets while delivering homegrown and secure clean power for Irish energy consumers. All the wind farm’s installed capacity has been contracted under a 16.5-year RESS 3 contract for low carbon power from the Irish Government.

SSE Renewables commenced construction of the wind farm in October 2022. At peak delivery, the project has supported up to 150 full-time construction phase jobs. Approximately 300,000 hours have been recorded on the project site across the main local contractors, as well as SSE employees. The site will continue to support County Offaly’s job creation and local economy in the months ahead.

Commenting on the milestone, Paul Rodgers, Project Manager on Yellow River Wind Farm for SSE Renewables said: “We are delighted to have reached this milestone in the project. It takes a huge amount of planning and organisation to get to this point. It was a massive team effort from everyone involved including our contracting partners Nordex, Farrans and Suir Engineering. We would like to thank the local communities surrounding Rhode for their patience and support over the past few months while we transported turbine components from the Port of Galway to site.

“Developments like Yellow River Wind Farm continue to be significant for Ireland, not just through the contribution they will make towards meeting Ireland’s green electricity targets, but also through the strategically important role they play in supporting local investment, creating good jobs and boosting regional development.”

James Lappin, Project Manager for the Nordex Group said: “To see the conclusion of turbine installations at Yellow River is a proud moment for everyone that has been involved in the installation programme over the past six months. Since commencing installation works in January, we have done everything possible to transport these huge components to site safely and with minimal disruption to local communities. To have gotten to this point on schedule is testament to the meticulous planning that has gone into this project from our partners at SSE Renewables, my colleagues at Nordex and all our suppliers.”

Once operational, Yellow River will operate an annual Community Benefit Fund which will provide over half a million euro annually for local initiatives, projects, clubs and amenities for the 16.5-year duration of the RESS contract.

Completion of Yellow River Wind Farm will contribute to SSE Renewables’ target of increasing its installed renewable energy capacity to 9GW by 2027, as part of SSE's Net Zero Acceleration Programme Plus (NZAP Plus) infrastructure delivery programme to help drive progress towards a cleaner and more secure homegrown energy system.