Irish firm to build €2bn windfarm

Irish wind and solar energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power is set to develop a €2bn windfarm off the Scottish coast.

The company, founded by Eddie O’Connor and Fintan Whelan in 2008 after selling Airtricity to SSE and E.on, yesterday secured a 15-year contract for its 450mw Neart na Gaoithe facility in the North Sea.

The windfarm, awarded planning consent in October 2014, is expected to be fully commissioned and generating electricity by 2020.

“Mainstream is delighted to have been awarded this contract today and we look forward to getting the windfarm construction-ready over the coming months in partnership with Siemens and GeoSea,” said Mainstream chief operating officer Andy Kinsella.

“What’s unique about this project is that it will be the first time a UK offshore windfarm of this scale will be built using project finance alone. Today’s announcement is the result of seven years of dedication and demonstrates Mainstream’s world-class expertise in project development, engineering and finance.”

The windfarm will have the capacity to meet the energy needs of the whole of Edinburgh and then some, or 325,000 homes. In total, it will provide just under 4% of the total electricity demand in Scotland.

A contract for difference has been signed between Mainstream and the UK National Grid which gives the windfarm an inflation-linked strike price for the electricity it produces for a period of 15 years.

Much of the funding for the project has been secured, as it pre-qualified for the Infrastructure UK Treasury Guarantee and the €315bn European Fund for Strategic Investments. The company is to explore bank financing in the coming weeks.

The contract taken by Mainstream is the second largest of the 27 available with one of the UK’s largest energy providers, Scottish Power taking the largest.

Under the terms of the contract, Mainstream will provide 20% of the megawatt capacity awarded through the 27 contracts.

Mainstream was previously linked with providing energy to the UK market, having been part of the Government’s ambitious €15bn plan to export wind energy to the UK from 1,000 turbines across the Midlands.

The plan was put on hold last year, although the Government still sees potential for energy exporting to the UK market.

Earlier this month, Mainstream announced that it had expanded its presence in Africa, where it already has an extensive portfolio, with a €1.7bn joint venture aimed at delivering up to 900mw of wind and solar power by 2018.