SSE Thermal, the generation arm of SSE plc, announced it is building a new 300-megawatt (MW) power station at Tarbert, County Kerry, Ireland. The project incorporates an Ansaldo Energia AE94.3A open-cycle gas turbine from Italy, which was recently transported by sea from Genoa via Foynes to the Tarbert site. The investment is up to €300 million (approximately KRW 410 billion), with construction having begun in December 2025 and completion targeted for late 2027.
The new Tarbert power station is being developed by SSE Thermal, with Atlantic Projects Company serving as the construction partner. The core equipment is an Ansaldo Energia AE94.3A open-cycle gas turbine. The 335-tonne turbine completed its sea voyage from the Italian port of Genoa via the Irish port of Foynes to its final destination at Tarbert. The power station is expected to run primarily on sustainable biofuel, with the design reportedly allowing for future conversion to hydrogen fuel.
The new power station has a generation capacity of 300MW, with an investment of up to €300 million (approximately KRW 410 billion). Construction began in December 2025, with completion targeted for late 2027. Approximately 200 workers are being deployed during the construction period, and 14 permanent full-time positions are expected to be created once commercial operation begins.
This project is part of a broader power generation investment package SSE Thermal is pursuing in Ireland, alongside the sister Platin Power Station (140MW, County Meath, construction started June 2026), aimed at simultaneously securing the stability of Ireland’s power grid and compensating for the intermittency arising from renewable energy expansion. Combined, the two projects will add 440MW of new generation capacity for SSE Thermal in Ireland within a short span of time.
European countries have continued to invest in rapidly dispatchable gas turbine power stations to offset grid instability resulting from the expansion of renewable energy shares, and this Tarbert project sits within that broader trend. In particular, the decision to adopt sustainable biofuel as the primary fuel from the outset while keeping open the possibility of future hydrogen conversion reflects a tendency among European power generation companies to require fuel flexibility linked to carbon neutrality roadmaps as a key criterion when ordering new gas turbine equipment. For Ansaldo Energia, this represents an additional new order win for the AE94.3A model in Europe, which could support its competitiveness in future bidding for similar mid-sized gas turbine orders. The employment and contracting opportunities generated for local construction and engineering firms, including Atlantic Projects Company as the construction partner, also highlight the ripple effects that Irish power infrastructure investment can have on the regional economy. The fact that the sea transport of the 335-tonne gas turbine from Italy to Ireland was treated as a major project milestone illustrates how cross-border equipment logistics and supply chain management have become a key pillar of schedule management in large-scale power generation projects.
Whether the construction process proceeds on schedule toward the planned completion and commercial operation date at the end of 2027 is the primary point to watch. The construction progress of the sister Platin Power Station and the synergy between the two projects also warrant attention. In addition, it remains to be confirmed at what point and in what manner the plant, which is set to begin operations on sustainable biofuel, will actually transition to hydrogen fuel. Whether SSE Thermal will announce additional similar gas turbine power generation investments in regions beyond Ireland is also worth watching. How the composition of the 14 permanent positions to be filled after commercial operation begins, and the resulting local employment impact, take shape is also a point to watch.