London-listed renewables fund TRIG has made its first investment in the Republic of Ireland in over three years following a €72 million onshore wind buy.
The group has acquired the 41.2MW Clahane 1 site, in addition to its 13.8MW extension. The former has been operational since 2008 while the extension is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Clahane 1 has six years remaining on its feed-in tariff, although the extension will benefit fully from Ireland’s 15-year tariff regime.
The €72 million fee is partially dependent on certain construction milestones related to the extension. There is no debt attached to the projects and TRIG’s purchase has been financed via its revolving acquisition facility, subsequently increased from £150 million ($208.6 million; €169.9 million) to £240 million by Royal Bank of Scotland, National Australia Bank and ING Group.
TRIG’s investment is its first in Ireland since a €17.3 million deal to acquire the 25.3MW Taurbeg wind farm in November 2014. Two further wind assets in the country were bought as part of TRIG’s seed acquisitions in August 2013. The move is the latest diversification of the 876MW portfolio, with its previous two transactions being the completion of its first battery storage deal and its entry into offshore wind alongside Equitix.
Onshore wind assets in the UK still account for about 60 percent of the portfolio, while significant wind and solar projects are also owned by the group in France.