Shannon Solar Farm

On this project we were appointed Main Contractors and PSCS for the design and construction of a 1.2Mw Airside Solar Farm on the grounds of Shannon Airport. This would be the first Airside Solar farm in Ireland and presented a number of design and logistical challenges. The Solar field was located between live runway and taxiways and the cable route crossed taxiways, green spaces and active aircraft stands eventually terminating in the Main plant room. New Main electrical boards and infrastructure were provided as well as a new plant room housing the inverters and a new transformer enclosure. Directional drilling under the active aircraft stands and taxiways was required in order to maintain live airport operations at all times. The directional drilling involved 2 bores through rock for a distance of 700m at a depth of up to 5m, each bore between 450 and 600 diameter to receive multiple ducts.

The solar panels were mounted on a pile driven ground mounting system, designed, installed and certified by HTR. ACEL Energy supplied and commissioned the solar panels and equipment. Megavar installed mains cables and new MV equipment and boards. The project was successfully completed in September 2025 and is currently providing over 30% of the airports energy requirements with in built capacity for future expansion.