The Lenalea Wind Farm in County Donegal has officially opened.
The 30MW wind farm is a joint venture between co-developers SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland.
It is located in the rural upland setting of central Donegal, around 10km southwest of Letterkenny.
SESE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland invested more than €40 million in the farm.
The fully operational wind farm comprises seven Vestas V117-4.3 MW onshore wind turbines.
Under the terms of a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) between SSE Renewables, FutureEnergy Ireland and Microsoft, the renewable energy produced at Lenalea Wind Farm will contribute towards Microsoft's goal of powering its data centre operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.
In addition to environmental and economic benefits, the Lenalea Community Fund will open later this year, inviting the first round of applications for funding.
Charlie McConalogue, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine who provided the keynote address at the official opening event in Ballybofey, welcomed the completion of the project.
"SSE Renewables and FuturEnergy Ireland have invested €40 million in this joint venture onshore wind development and 35 people were involved during its construction, many who were locally based," he said.
"The site will make a real contribution to Ireland's 2030 renewable energy targets and assist in security of supply," he added.
Construction on the site located within the townlands of Cark, Killmansey, Lenalea, Kirkneedy and Rareagh began in May 2021 when the first sod was turned.
Full construction began in June 2022, led by leading industry partners as well as many regional contractors employing a significant local workforce.
