ILOS Energy has secured a €143 million debt financing facility from Danske Bank to support construction of a 217-megawatt solar farm in Ballyhea, County Cork, the company said.
Construction began in April and is progressing ahead of schedule. The utility-scale facility, developed in partnership with Soleire Renewables, will cover roughly 500 acres and is expected to generate enough electricity to power about 39,000 homes.
ILOS Energy said work on its separate 220 MW Erkina solar farm near Roscrea, County Tipperary, is nearing completion following investment of approximately €130 million. The project began its energisation process with grid operator EirGrid in late October.
Together, the Ballyhea and Erkina developments will provide nearly 440 MW of capacity and increase Ireland’s operational solar fleet by roughly 25%, the company said. ILOS Energy and Soleire Renewables are also progressing four additional utility-scale projects in eastern Ireland at various stages of development.
Mark Varian, managing director for ILOS Energy in Ireland, said the new funding marks a significant step for the company’s pipeline. “I’m pleased to announce that ILOS Energy have secured a new €143 million debt finance facility from our partners in Danske Bank, which will fund the construction of our 217MW solar farm project in Ballyhea, Co Cork over the coming year,” he said.
Varian added that the company’s Tipperary project is close to operation. “Alongside our 220MW solar park in Tipperary, which is nearly complete and will begin exporting to the national grid in December, ILOS Energy and our development partners in Soleire Renewables are proud to be bringing projects of significant scale to market that will make a tangible difference to Ireland’s 2030 climate targets,” he said.
He said further solar development will support Ireland’s long-term energy transition. “Over the coming years, we’ll continue to progress further utility scale projects in other strategic locations of the country, which will play a vital role in decarbonising Ireland’s energy system while also enhancing our security of supply,” Varian said.
