Belfast City Council has made history by becoming the first organisation to secure green electricity from the city's newest wind farm, marking a major shift toward sustainable energy for the local authority.

Through a new partnership with 3T Power, more than 200 council-owned buildings will now be powered exclusively by renewable energy. The contract covers many of Belfast's most iconic landmarks, including City Hall, Belfast Castle, St George's Market, and 2 Royal Avenue, alongside various leisure and community centres.

The electricity is generated at the recently completed Ballyutoag project in the Belfast Hills. By sourcing power from this Northern Ireland-based site, the council is not only reducing its carbon footprint but also supporting the local economy and job market. Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly, emphasised the council's role in driving environmental change: "We want to lead by example and do our part to make a real difference to cutting emissions and encouraging others to do the same. As the city's community planning authority, we have taken the lead in shaping and paving the way for a greener and more sustainable city, with transformational projects which will, in time, see real changes to how we live, work and future-proof our city.

"This contract underlines our own ambitions as an organisation to modernise and future-proof our buildings and, as the owner of one of the largest estates in the city, we want to encourage others to do the same – to put their shoulder to the wheel and work with us to help make the city's climate change targets a reality."

Thomas Kelso, Director at 3T Power, noted that the Ballyutoag site went live this autumn after years of development. He praised the council's leadership and invited other businesses to consider their Renewable Energy Adjustment tariff to improve price transparency and lower costs when green energy is most abundant.

The move aligns with the city's Local Area Energy Plan, launched in September 2024, which aims for Belfast to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The council has already progressed several other green initiatives over the past year, including a city-centre heat network project, the Belfast Retrofit Hub for home energy efficiency, and the UPSURGE sustainable horticulture demonstrator at the Lower Botanic Gardens.