Greencells GmbH is awarded EPC contract for the Electricity Supply Board’s (ESB) first solar park project in Ireland

Greencells GmbH is awarded EPC contract for the Electricity Supply Board’s (ESB) first solar park project in Ireland

Saarbrücken, 9 January 2024 – Greencells GmbH, a globally active EPC and O&M service provider for utility-scale solar power plants, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a contract for the construction of Bullstown Solar Farm, which will be located to the south-east of Ashbourne, Co. Meath. The construction phase of the EUR 13 million project is scheduled to commence in early 2024 and once complete, the solar farm will generate 8.5 MW of clean electricity which will provide enough capacity to power over 2,000 homes.

Bullstown Solar Farm is the first of three wholly-owned ESB solar farms currently being progressed which represents a total investment of almost  EUR 200 million. ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy includes a commitment to deliver more than a fivefold increase in renewable generation portfolio to 5,000 MW, with solar playing an important part in this alongside offshore and onshore wind, battery and green hydrogen projects.

Commenting on the announcement, Eoin Naughton, Solar Development Manager at ESB, stated that “Bullstown Solar Farm marks the beginning of a sustained campaign by ESB to develop and construct a large portfolio of utility scale solar farms throughout the midlands, south & south-east of the country as we move towards our ultimate ESB goal of achieving Net Zero by 2040. Solar provides an excellent opportunity for landowners and local communities to benefit from the clean energy transition. Projects like this one will help to reduce our dependency on imported fossil fuels whilst also contributing to decarbonising our electrical grid. We now look forward to working with Greencells, one of the largest European solar EPC providers, to deliver Bullstown Solar Farm.

Ric Hallikeri, General Manager EMEA at Greencells, added: “Ireland is a focus market for Greencells GmbH with the construction of six solar farms currently underway in the country. Bullstown Solar Farm is our first project with ESB and we look forward to delivering this important kick-off project for its wider solar portfolio. In the context of a long-term partnership, we will support ESB in realizing its ambitious decarbonization goals over the coming years.”

The project will be developed by Bullstown Solar Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ESB. Full planning permission has been granted by Meath County Council and the project was successful within the RESS 2 auction in June 2022.

About Greencells GmbH:
Greencells GmbH is a global provider of EPC and O&M services specialized in utility-scale solar power plants. Together with its sister company Greencells Group Holdings Ltd. (together “Greencells Group”), which is active worldwide as a solar project developer, the company has the know-how in all project phases to optimally plan, finance, implement and operate solar projects. Greencells GmbH, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Saarbrücken, has around 90 employees as well as several hundred skilled workers at the active construction sites. As one of the largest European providers of solar power plants, Greencells Group has already been successfully involved in the construction or planning of more than 150 photovoltaic plants with a total output of over 2.7 GWp in more than 25 countries.

About ESB:
ESB was established in 1927 as a statutory body under the Electricity (Supply) Act, 1927. 

With a holding of 96.9%, ESB is majority owned by the Irish Government. The remaining 3.1% is held by the trustees of an Employee Share Ownership Plan. As a strong, diversified utility, ESB operates across the electricity market, from generation through transmission and distribution, to supply of customers in addition to using our networks to carry fibre for telecommunications.

As at year-end 2022, ESB has a regulated asset base of approximately EUR 12.0 billion (comprising ESB Networks EUR 9.7 billion and NIE Networks EUR 2.3 billion), a 30% share of generation in the all-island market, and supply businesses supplying electricity and gas to over two million customer accounts throughout the island of Ireland and Great Britain. 

At June 2023, ESB Group employed almost 9,000 people.

Greencells contact:
Alexandra Roger-Machart | Head of Corporate Communications, ESG and IR
ir@greencells.com | Mobile: +49 172 397 0957
Greencells GmbH
Bahnhofstr. 28
66111 Saarbrücken
Germany
www.greencells.com

Financial press contact:
Frank Ostermair, Linh Chung
frank.ostermair@better-orange.de | Phone: +49 89 88 96906 25
Better Orange IR & HV AG
Haidelweg 48
81241 Munich
Germany
www.better-orange.de