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SSE Airtricity (previously Eirtricity) is an energy company founded in Ireland in 1997, and now a subsidiary
SSE plc SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom ...
. SSE Airtricity supplies and distributes electricity and gas to
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
.


History

The company was founded as ''Eirtricity'' (derived from the word ''
Éire () is Irish for "Ireland", the name of both an island in the North Atlantic and the sovereign state of the Republic of Ireland which governs 84% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinct from Northern Ireland, which covers the remaind ...
'',
Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
for "Ireland") in 1997 by Eddie O'Connor, developed generation capacity in Ireland based in counties Cavan, Donegal, Sligo and
Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
construction, though only 7 of a planned 200 turbines were actually built. The company changed its name to Airtricity in 2002. It rebranded as SSE Airtricity in February 2014. In 2007 Airtricity was named 'The No.1 Best Company to Work For in Ireland' by the Great Place To Work Institute. The company sold its North American assets in October 2007 to the German Group E.ON for approximately $1.4bn. The company was sold to
SSE plc SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom ...
in January 2008 for approximately €1.1b. On 15 January 2009, Airtricity obtained consent from the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works, and Water Management for construction of the West Rhine (Dutch: West-Rijn) wind farm 40 kilometres off the Dutch North Sea coast. The wind farm will consist of up to 72 wind turbines with a total potential power capacity of around 260 MW. Eddie O'Connor left Airtricity in 2008 and founded
Mainstream Renewable Power Eddie O'Connor is an Irish businessman who is co-founder and chairman of Mainstream Renewable Power, a renewable energy group. O'Connor holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (1970) and a master's in industrial engineering (1976), both from ...
. In October 2009 SSE announced that the renewable energy division of Airtricity would be rebranded as
SSE Renewables SSE Renewables is a renewable energy subsidiary of SSE plc, which develops and operates onshore and offshore wind farms and hydroelectric generation in the United Kingdom and Ireland. History In October 2009, SSE announced that Airtricity woul ...
from 1 January 2010. In May 2010 Airtricity announced that it would be entering the domestic gas market in the Republic of Ireland. Airtricity came under fire in 2010 for an alleged lack of compassion in disconnecting customers with a good bill-paying record.


Description

SSE Airtricity is owned by
Scottish and Southern Energy SSE plc (formerly Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a multinational energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. SSE operates in the United Kingdom and ...
as of 15 February 2008 and now describes itself as "the renewable arm of Scottish and Southern Energy Group". As of May 2008, the company had 24 wind farms in operation throughout Ireland and the UK, with a total nameplate capacity of over 600 MW. A further 7 wind farms totalling over 100 MW are under construction. Construction of the
Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm Greater Gabbard is a 504 MW wind farm, built on sandbanks off the coast of Suffolk in England at a cost of £1.5 billion. It was completed on 7 September 2012 with all of the Siemens SWT3.6–107 turbines connected. Developed as a jo ...
with a peak capacity of 500 MW using 140 x 3.6 MW Siemens turbines. These included: *
Ardrossan Wind Farm The 24 megawatt (MW) Ardrossan Wind Farm in Ardrossan, North Ayrshire, Scotland was officially opened on 10 August 2004. The Vestas factory in Argyll, which now employs more than 200 people, has supplied the wind turbines for the Airtricity deve ...
, Scotland – now sold to Infinis *
Arklow Bank Wind Park Arklow Bank Wind Park is a 25 megawatt offshore wind farm generating electrical power for the County Wicklow, Wicklow region in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the first offshore wind farm in Ireland, and the world's first erection of ...
, Ireland * Braes of Doune Wind Farm, Scotland *
Bindoo wind farm Bindoo is a townland in the civil parish of Kildrumsherdan in County Cavan, Ireland. It has an area of approximately . Evidence of ancient settlement in the townland includes a ringfort (rath) site. The townland, located close to Cootehill, is ...
, Ireland *
Meentycat wind farm Meentycat wind farm is a wind farm located north of Ballybofey, County Donegal, Ireland. Erected in 2004, it was Ireland's largest wind farm when it opened in 2005. Originally owned by Airtricity (later SSE Airtricity), as of 2020 it was run by ...
, Ireland * West Kilbride wind farm, Scotland SSE Airtricity supplies electricity in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to industrial and residential customers. In the Republic of Ireland it competes with ESB
Electric Ireland Electric Ireland () is an Irish utility company that supplies electricity and gas to business and residential customers in Ireland. It is the supply division of the Electricity Supply Board, the former monopoly electricity company in Ireland. Th ...
and Bord Gáis Energy, while in Northern Ireland it competes with
Viridian Viridian is a blue-green pigment, a hydrated chromium(III) oxide, of medium saturation and relatively dark in value. It is composed of a majority of green, followed by blue. Specifically, it is a shade of spring green, which places the color b ...
,
Phoenix Natural Gas Phoenix Natural Gas is the largest gas distribution business in Northern Ireland, being the owner and operator of the licence for the distribution network in the Greater Belfast area. The distribution business is responsible for the development o ...
,
Northern Ireland Electricity Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (NIE Networks) is the electricity asset owner of the transmission and distribution infrastructure in Northern Ireland, established in 1993 when the business was privatised. NIE Networks does not gene ...
(NIE) and ESB Electric Ireland.


Sponsorship

In 2010, SSE Airtricity signed a three-year deal to become the primary sponsor of the
League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally use ...
. In January 2021 a two-year renewal of the existing deal with the (men's) League of Ireland was extended to also cover the Women's National League. SSE Airtricity currently sponsors the Dublin Marathon and the Great Wall Marathon in Northern Ireland. SSE Airtricity is also a principal sponsor of the Eco Schools programme.


See also

*
Arklow Bank Wind Park Arklow Bank Wind Park is a 25 megawatt offshore wind farm generating electrical power for the County Wicklow, Wicklow region in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the first offshore wind farm in Ireland, and the world's first erection of ...
*
List of Irish companies This is a list of notable companies based in Ireland, or subsidiaries according to their sector. It includes companies from the entire island. The state of the Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of th ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Electric power companies of the Republic of Ireland Electric power companies of Northern Ireland Wind power companies SSE plc