Construction of ESB’s 212-acre solar farm in Longford is set to start in September, the semi-State company has announced.

Middleton House Solar Farm is located to the northeast of Lanesborough, Longford, some 2.5km from the village of Killashee.

The 57MW solar farm represents a “multi-million euro” investment by ESB and, when operational, will have enough capacity to power over 15,000 homes.

Lough Ree Power Station

ESB’s solar team is now connecting the solar farm to the national grid using the existing connection infrastructure at the former Lough Ree power site.

Middleton House Solar Farm will connect to the electricity network via a new 5km cable along the disused peat rail line, which was in use from the late 1950s to just a few years ago to carry peat to the power station.

Planning permission for the solar farm was secured from Longford County Council in three stages and the project was successful in the State-supported RESS 2 auction in June 2022.

The planning application was originally submitted by an Irish-owned renewable energy company, Harmony Solar.

The planned Middleton House Solar Farm in Longford. Source: ESB

In 2020, ESB and Harmony Solar entered into a €30m partnership to develop ground-mounted solar projects in Ireland.

5,000MW

Under ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy, the semi-State company will develop 5,000MW of renewable energy, with solar playing an important part, alongside offshore and onshore wind, battery and green hydrogen projects.

Middleton House Solar Farm forms part of ESB’s planned pipeline of solar farms throughout the midlands, south and southeast of the country.