ESB and Bord na Mona have announced that they will build four solar farms in Roscommon, Offaly and Kildare that will be capable of powering 150,000 homes, as reported on independent.ie. Currently wind provides all of Ireland's commercial renewable power generation.
ESB have previously announced plans for more than 20 solar farms in Ireland, and invested €2.5 million in Irish solar energy firm Terra Solar in 2016.
The planned farms will be built on fully-harvested peatlands. ESB CEO Pat O'Doherty said: "This new partnership - with the potential to power 150,000 homes and businesses - reinforces our confidence in solar to help Ireland meet its carbon reduction targets beyond 2020."
Bord na Mona CEO, Mike Quinn, said, "The solar industry, although in its infancy here in Ireland, has the potential to form an important part of Ireland's future energy mix in the medium to long term."
Planning applications for the farms are likely to be submitted later in 2017, but face an obstacle in the lack of a national or regional strategy for such developments. This has been a factor in planning inspectors declining to grant permission for other solar projects.