NI Water dramatically reduced their carbon footprint by using 24,000 solar panels to complete a £7 million solar farm yesterday, turning what was a green field into a green power station.

The scheme will produce enough electricity to supply the power needs of one of Northern Ireland’s largest treatment plants - Dunore Water Treatment Works (WTW) in South Antrim.

The major project involved work on a 33 acre site on the eastern shore of Lough Neagh and is expected to save over half a million pounds annually in energy costs for the company.

NI Water CEO Sara Venning with Leo Martin, GRAHAM, Civil Engineering 

As well as meeting the energy needs of the Dunore WTW, the project will also enable the company to contribute spare capacity to the grid.

Commenting on the completion of the project, the company’s CEO Sara Venning said:-

“As the largest user of electricity in Northern Ireland, we are committed to finding innovative renewable energy projects to reduce our expenditure on power, which has already tumbled by £5 million over the last three years. The Dunore solar farm is a major step toward reaching our goal of increasing electricity consumption from renewable sources from the current 13% to 40% by 2021.

“Dunore is one of many innovative renewable energy projects which NI Water is developing to ensure we become more energy efficient while also making cost savings to our business. This flagship project will also save around 2000 tonnes of carbon every year.”

Leo Martin, GRAHAM, Civil Engineering Managing Director added:

“GRAHAM is delighted to have completed this major project for NI Water. It’s an impressive achievement, with 24,000 solar panels now helping to provide a peak output of 4.99 megawatts, with spare capacity going to the grid.”

GRAHAM worked alongside suppliers RPS, Greencells and Scotts Electrical on the Dunore solar farm - the latest in a series of successful collaborative projects between NI Water and GRAHAM.

Working as part of the contractor team for NI Water’s Integrated Wastewater Framework, the firm has delivered new-build treatment works, upgrades to existing treatment works, pumping stations and pipeline construction across around 100 separate schemes.

NI Water is the province’s largest user of electricity and Dunore is its third largest site in terms of energy consumption accounting for 7% of the company’s annual usage.

The utility said it recognises the opportunity that recent and future change in the electricity market and associated technologies represent. The Dunore Solar Farm is an important element in the company’s strategy to continue to deliver improvements for customers and the environment.