17 hours ago
Tirlán turns sod on solar farm to power largest production facility
Tirlán has commenced work on a major renewable energy project at its multi-purpose integrated dairy processing facility in Ballyragget, Co Kilkenny.
The 6.5ha, 8MWp ground-mounted solar farm is being delivered in partnership with ESB's Smart Energy Services and is expected to be completed in early 2026. It will reduce the site's carbon footprint and its reliance on grid electricity.
The solar farm will be a 'behind-the-meter' self-generation project, meaning all energy produced will be consumed directly at the Ballyragget facility. Once operational, it will supply about 7.6GWh of clean renewable energy annually, meeting 34% of the site's imported electricity needs. That is the equivalent of powering more than 1,700 households with electricity for a year.
Tirlán chairperson John Murphy said the investment marked a "key milestone" in the company's journey to further decarbonise its operations and strengthen its energy resilience at its largest processing site.
'It builds on the success of solar installations at our Kilkenny Soup Plant and Tirlán CountryLife Castlecomer retail branch and reflects our commitment to a more sustainable energy mix.
"In addition, there has been a strong uptake of 'turn-key' solar packages on-farm to help suppliers reduce both their carbon emissions and cost through our FarmGen programme," Mr Murphy said.
The solar array will consist of 12,816 photovoltaic panels and 32 inverters, and is expected to reduce the carbon footprint by 2,100t of CO₂ annually — equivalent to removing 450 diesel cars from Irish roads or planting 94,000 evergreen trees. Over its 25-year lifespan, the project will avoid about 50,000t of CO₂.
'We're proud to partner with Tirlán on this landmark solar project, which demonstrates the power of collaboration in accelerating progress toward net zero,' said Ciaran Gallagher, ESB's head of Smart Energy Services.
By enabling projects like this solar farm in Ballyragget to generate clean electricity, we're helping to reduce emissions and enhance energy resilience at scale. This project is a shining example of how Irish industry can lead the way in renewable energy innovation.
Tirlán's chief ESG officer Lisa Koep said Tirlán was continuing to actively explore other renewable electricity options for its facilities as part of its wider Living Proof sustainability strategy and as part of its commitment to helping Ireland decarbonise.
Tirlán's Ballyragget processing facility is one of the largest multi-purpose integrated dairy plants in Europe. The site employs more than 360 people, processing up to 1.2bn litres of milk, 1.3bn litres of whey and up to 200 million litres of cream annually.
More than €180m has been invested during the last decade in developing and enhancing the site, which has been operational for more than 50 years.
