NTR in €150m swoop for UK, Irish wind farms

The developer’s latest acquisitions were made through its €250m debut wind fund, bringing its total assets under management to 142MW.

Renewable energy firm NTR has acquired three wind farms in Scotland and Ireland in a deal worth €150 million.

The Dublin-based company bought the 35MW Airies project and 11.5MW Ardoch and Over Enoch project from the UK’s Velocita Energy Developments. NTR also acquired a 17.5MW wind farm in Ireland from London-headquartered Element Power.

The three acquisitions were made through NTR’s Wind 1 Fund, which closed on €250m earlier this year following commitments from Legal & General Capital, Strathclyde Pension Fund and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. The vehicle now manages 142MW and is eyeing further acquisitions over the coming months.

“We remain positive about the fundamentals for the UK and Irish renewables markets for the investment period of this fund, despite recent regulatory changes for onshore wind in the UK,” Manus O’Donnell , NTR’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “We continue to see a sufficient pipeline of quality assets to complete our target of €250 million of equity investments between now and 2017.”

NTR chief executive Rosheen McGuckian added that the company is now examining a pipeline for the launch of a second fund, currently in the pre-fundraising stage, in 2017.

The Airies project and the wind farm in Ireland both remain under development. They are expected to be operational in the coming months and Q4 2017 respectively.