Dairy firm Dale Farm plugs in 5-MW solar power plant in N Ireland

Belfast-based farmer-owned dairy cooperative Dale Farm Ltd announced last week it has switched on a 37-acre (15 ha) solar park at its cheese processing facility in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Dale Farm said in a statement that this is the largest “self-consumption” solar farm on the island of Ireland and is hooked directly to the company’s network.

The project was executed by CES Energy. According to a previous announcement by the Dublin-based energy company, the plant in Cookstown comprises more than 18,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules and has a total capacity of 5 MW.

Dale Farm estimates that the new solar power facility will lower its carbon footprint by 20% and deliver multimillion-pound savings in energy costs. The project guarantees 20 years of green energy for the company.

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