Finance Secured for Ireland's Largest Windfarm

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Financing has been secured for the construction of the second phase of what will be Ireland's biggest windfarm.

Scotland's SSE plc (LSE:SSE) (Perth, Scotland) and Ireland's state forestry company, Coillte (Newtownmountkennedy), have raised 176 million euro ($191.7 million) for Phase II of the 169-megawatt (MW) Galway Wind Park, located in County Galway on the country's west coast. The 105-MW Phase II is divided into two projects of 50 MW and 55 MW, both located in a rural area south of the village of Oughterard. Phase II is 50:50 owned by both partners.

The windfarm, when fully commissioned in the second half of next year, will be capable of supplying power to approximately 84,000 homes--or almost 90% of all Galway homes. It will generate more than double the power of the 88.5 MW Meentycat onshore windfarm in Donegal, Ireland's largest operational windfarm.

Phase I of the project, in which construction started in February 2015, is wholly owned by SSE.

Paul Cooley, SSE plc director of renewables, said: "SSE is proud to be Ireland's largest provider of wind power and the country's leading single investor in greener energy generation since 2008. Our investment with project partner Coillte at Galway Wind Park marks the most significant commitment yet that SSE has made in renewable generation here and reflects the exceptional quality of this Galway site for wind energy generation as well as the outstanding project partnership that we enjoy with Coillte."

"Coillte's ambition is to be the best forestry and land solutions company in Europe," added Mark Foley, managing director, Coillte Land Solutions. "This deal with SSE fits with our strategy to maximise the potential of each hectare we manage in a sustainable way. It is a clear example of how we can add significant economic value to our estate and secure significant recurring future income."

Ireland currently has 2,038 -MW of wind energy, all from onshore windfarms. Wind supplied over 18% of the country's electricity at the close of 2014.

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