Elgar Middleton plans €66m Limerick solar plants
UK-based infrastructure and energy company Elgar Middleton could spend €66 million developing six solar plants around Limerick.
Sites have already been identified and partner Edward Elgar said planning applications and applications for grid connections will be made next year. The six sites could generate up to 60MW of electricity between them. That’s enough to power to serve up to 19,000 homes.
Elgar said that the firm has been liaising with Limerick-based businessmen to identify suitable sites for the solar power projects. Six such sites have already been located.
Elgar Middleton would lease the land from owners, who in return would be paid a regular fee for its use. Wind power firms generally operate on the same principle when installing turbines at wind farms. Edward Elgar said that the UK firm would source the finance for the solar plants.
Each megawatt of solar power infrastructure costs about £750,000 (€1m), with an average of about another £50,000 (€68,000) typically set aside to cover the cost of connecting each megawatt to the electricity grid.
Construction could start late next year.
