Green Energy company Energia has announced it will deliver an additional 150 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy, having secured €48m financing that will help it deliver renewable energy from several new wind farm developments by 2012 – something which Energy Minister Eamon Ryan believes can be “Ireland’s great economic opportunity”.
The company, which is a member of the Viridian Group, will deliver the renewable energy to consumers on the national grid and the financing was agreed with the Bank of Ireland (BOI), National Bank of Australia (NAB) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Peter Baillie, managing director renewables, Energia, said: “This additional 150MW of wind power together with 565MW of PPAs will put us in a leading position with 25pc of the wind generation market.
“Demand for renewable electricity is growing rapidly among Irish business and we have consistently increased our renewable portfolio to meet this need.”
National wind farms
The 150MWs will come from new wind farms throughout Ireland, including developments in Cork, Tipperary and Tyrone, and most recently in Donegal, and Baille said the development of these wind farms are the basis for further operations in the future.
“We are delighted to have signed a €48m finance facility jointly with Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of Ireland and National Australia Bank to assist with the development of these wind farms and look forward to adding a further 70MW to the portfolio in the next few months. Continued investment in green power generation facilities is vital for the future growth of the Irish economy.”
In total, 53MW of services will benefit from the €48m with a scope to reach 100MW for further planned Irish projects.
Renewable investment
Ryan praised Viridian’s investment in renewable energy and activity in the country over recent years and said projects like these are the lifeblood of the country.
“Since 1999, Viridian has invested over €1.1bn in new energy generation infrastructure in Ireland. This includes developing two gas- fired generating plants in north Dublin with a generating capacity of 750 MW.
“Renewable power is Ireland’s great economic opportunity. Energia’s investment today is further proof that this green energy is securing finance and creating jobs even in these difficult economic times,” he said.
Energia has most recently completed the construction of the 12-turbine, 10MW wind farm in Drumlough, Buncrana, Co Donegal, which will supply renewable energy to a large amount of businesses across Ireland.
