Renewables projects in pipeline after rebrand
WIND farm developer Banks Renewables has been rebranded as OnPath Energy following its rumoured $1bn takeover by Brookfield Asset Management.
The County Durham-based business, which was part of the Banks Group until the December acquisition by the global investor, has more than 4GW of renewable capacity planned and in operation, including 11 operational onshore wind farms in Scotland and across the North of England.
Announcing the move, OnPath says it expects to create jobs as it prepares to start construction of wind, solar and storage projects across the UK in the next year.
The new-look business is led by the existing management team, who have an ambition to build it into the UK’s leading land-based renewables developer.
It is hoped that Brookfield’s significant resources will help OnPath pursue new projects to add to its portfolio – with planning permissions already secured for 14 wind farm sites and two solar arrays.
When the takeover deal was announced in October last year, Brookfield’s vice president Sebastian Perl said the UK was a high quality location for renewables projects and pointed to long term commitments his firm had made to other operators in the sector. The 887MW of capacity OnPath has in various stages of the planning and build out process is enough to provide for around 602,000 gas heated homes or a city larger than Leeds or Glasgow.
Richard Dunkley, managing director at OnPath Energy, said: “We have achieved a huge amount over the last two decades and now we are ready to take the next step in our growth journey.
“The OnPath Energy name captures the journey towards net zero that we’re taking together with our customers, business partners, landowners and local communities, and shows our ambition to make a substantial contribution towards creating a just transition to net zero that is fair and inclusive for everyone.
“Our success to date has been achieved through creating and maintaining long-term and valued
relationships with all our stakeholders and conducting ourselves with professionalism and integrity in all that we do. Our culture and approach to development was a key reason Brookfield acquired Banks Renewables, and this will continue to be at the core of OnPath Energy.
“We will grow in terms of our diversity of projects and technologies, and also geographically, and will deliver a range of high-quality projects that will contribute to both the UK’s journey towards net zero and its essential domestic supplies of secure, affordable renewable energy.
“Brookfield provides access to capital, global relationships for procurement and power marketing and a decades-long track record in renewables that will greatly enhance our business.”