Earlier this year, Lidl Ireland was please to open one of the country’s biggest state-of-the-art distribution centres in Mullingar, equivalent in size to nine Aviva Stadiums or four Croke Parks, on the back of an €80-million investment. The newly extended facility at Robinstown has led to the creation of 100 new jobs and has increased the capacity of Lidl’s facility to around 62,000 square metres, making it one of the largest buildings in the State. It is part of our €550-million Irish 3-year expansion plan, first announced by Lidl in 2021. As part of this plan, we’re also staying on track with the openings of several new stores this year with Clonmel, Bettystown and Dock Road, Limerick opening earlier this year. In addition, we relocated the Lidl store in West City Retail Park, Ballincollig and redeveloped the store on Waterford Road, Kilkenny.
Originally built in 2008 to service stores in the north Dublin, the midlands and the northwest, the Mullingar centre has expanded over the past 10 years to keep up with the retailer’s growing Irish footprint. We invested €1 million in a football-pitch-sized rooftop solar panel array consisting of almost 3,000 panels, which reduces our carbon output by some 220 tonnes annually, enough to power more than 218 homes each year, making a significant contribution towards a more sustainable future by harnessing solar power to meet a substantial portion of our energy requirements. This investment demonstrates Lidl’s commitment to sustainability, allowing the retailer to generate up to 25% of the new facility's energy requirement by solar power, making Lidl’s Mullingar distribution centre one of the most sustainable logistics facilities in Europe.