Finavera Renewables has signed an agreement with SSE Renewables (Ireland) Limited, the Republic of Ireland renewables development division of Scottish and Southern Energy ("SSE"), the UK energy company which previously acquired Irish wind energy company Airtricity, to sell a majority interest in its wholly owned Gate 3 grid connection from Eirgrid to SSE for (euro)8.4 million. The (euro)8.4 million consideration is payable in staged payments.
Finavera Renewables has also signed a Co-Development Agreement ("CDA") with SSE and Coillte, the state owned commercial forestry and renewables company, to jointly develop the Cloosh Valley project. Coillte is the landowner at the project site and has been a development partner on the project with Finavera since 2009. Finavera will retain a 10% equity interest in the project and will participate in all project development functions and activities.
Finavera Renewables CEO Jason Bak said, "We are delighted to be partnering with Scottish and Southern Energy and Coillte on the development of the Cloosh Valley Wind project. SSE brings significant development, construction, and operating experience to this project. The strength of the development team now behind the Cloosh Valley project illustrates the value of this project, which has some of the best available wind resources in Europe. We now have the right team and a clear path to construction and full operation of the Cloosh Valley project."
The Cloosh Valley Wind turbines project has nameplate capacity of up to 105MW and has received a Gate 3 Node Assignment from Eirgrid. The wind resource at the Cloosh Valley project is among the strongest in Europe.
The wind farm project capacity of 105MW would exceed all current onshore wind farms in Ireland and would provide enough electricity for approximately 68,000 homes.
SSE is one of the UK and Ireland’s leading energy companies. Its core purpose is to provide the energy people need in a reliable and sustainable way. It is involved in the generation, transmission, distribution and supply of electricity; energy trading; the development of major renewable energy projects; the extraction, storage, distribution and supply of gas; electrical and utility contracting; and telecoms. SSE owns just over 11,300MW of electricity generation capacity, including its share of joint ventures and associates.
This makes it the second largest electricity generator across the UK and Ireland. The capacity comprises 4,590MW of gas- and oil-fired capacity, 4,370MW of coal-fired capacity (with biomass ‘co-firing’ capability), and 2,370MW of renewable capacity.
Coillte is a commercial company operating in forestry, timber panel products, land based businesses and renewable energy. Coillte employs 1,000 people and owns over 445,000 hectares of land, about 7% of the land cover in Ireland.
Finavera Renewables Inc. is dedicated to the development of renewable energy resources. The Company’s objective is to become a major renewable and green energy producer by developing and operating its assets in the wind sector. Finavera Renewables is developing wind energy projects in Canada and Ireland.
In British Columbia, Canada, projects totalling 301MW have been awarded Electricity Purchase Agreements under the BC Hydro Clean Power Call. In Ireland, one pre-construction wind project is under development with a potential capacity of 105MW. Data collection and environmental studies have been continuing at a number of sites in both countries.
