Coillte plans to build six wind farms in next three years

State forestry body, Coillte plans to build six wind farms over the nextthree years, which will ultimately have the capacity to provide electricity for 210,000 homes.

The company’s burgeoning renewable energy arm will begin construction on the first of those projects this year, a joint-venture with the ESB in Co Wicklow, with it set to be fully operational sometime next year. Further joint-venture wind projects – with SSE Energy and Bord na Mona – areplanned for counties Galway and Roscommon.

Coillte recently launched a tender process, searching for a development partner for a number of planned solar energy projects. Chief executive, Fergal Leamy said yesterday that early interest levels have been high but management is yet to decide on a definite plan of action, regarding solar. Bord na Mona is planning a pilot solar farm project, in Co Offaly, next year; but Mr Leamy said Coillte has different challenges relating to the location and topography of its landbank.

He was speaking on the back of a strong set of annual results – showing a 46% jump in operating profits (before exceptional items) to €60.5m and an 8% rise in revenues to €262.3m; and a near €13m rise in post-tax profits to €38.3m. The results, according to Mr Leamy, show “important progress” made by Coillte in continuing to recover from the recession in the Irish and UK construction markets.

Despite the increase in renewable energy projects, however, Mr Leamy said that leg of the business will remain a secondary consideration and will continue to complement the core forestry side, rather than overtake it.

“We have 445,000 hectares of forestry land and the opportunity to build a world-class forestry company that can meet the huge international demand for timber and biomass,” he said.

“Coillte’s core business is forestry and we are encouraged by the strong demand we are seeing, globally, for the products we produce.

“We expect this demand to increase in the next few years with stronger demand from construction and growing bioenergy needs,” he added.

“In parallel, we are maximising the value of each forest hectare we own, by developing an exciting renewable energy portfolio,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Leamy said progress is being made on the partial merger ofCoillte with Bord na Mona, which by the end of next year will see the two firms overlap on green tourism, wind energy, shared services and biomass activity. “Good progress is being made in 2015 in looking at the areas of mutual benefit identified between the two companies,” he said.