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Greencoat Renewables, a renewables infrastructure investor, has paid €37.2m for a Killala windfarm.
A community windfarm in Co Mayo with five turbines has been purchased by Greencoat Renewables. The windfarm, based near the town of Killala, was opened in July of last year and is currently undergoing expansion.
According to the Irish Independent, five 3.4MW turbines have been operational since then, with another turbine currently under construction that is set to bring its total capacity to 20.4MW by the end of next year.
Greencoat Renewables will pay €37.2m as part of an initial price, with further payments due once the final turbine is operational. Its revenues are contracted under the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff 2 (REFIT2) scheme. This will provide the site with a minimum guaranteed price for the generated electricity up until 2032.
Greencoat Renewables’ investment manager, Paul O’Donnell, said of the deal: “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of Killala, adding another high-quality wind asset with long-term contracted revenues.
“This is our first acquisition of a community windfarm and we are delighted that the local community will be sharing in the value created.”
It added that the deal was funded by its €380m credit facility. The Irish company currently has a windfarm portfolio with a capacity of more than 400MW and is managed by investment management firm Greencoat Capital. One of its last acquisitions was the 20MW Gortahile windfarm in Co Laois, purchased from Glenmont Partners last September.
Investment in Ireland’s wind infrastructure has ramped up in recent years, led by the country’s need for more renewable electricity to meet EU carbon emission reduction targets.
E-commerce giant Amazon revealed in August that it plans to open a 23MW windfarm near Esk, Co Cork. It will be developed, operated and owned by Invis Energy with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offtake 100pc of the energy from this project in September 2020.
