Solar farms handed €140m ISIF boost
THE Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) has teamed up with German solar and wind park operator Capital Stage to invest €140m in 20 solar parks in Ireland.
The parks are being developed by Dublin-based Power Capital.
It’s the first time that ISIF has committed to financing solar park developments in Ireland.
There has been a large number of applications made for solar parks in Ireland, but some applications – especially for large-scale projects – have been turned down by local authorities because of the absence of a national strategic framework for their development.
The parks that ISIF and Capital Stage are planning to finance will generate a total of 140MW of electricity. They will range in size from between 5MW and 25MW.
By the end of last year, planning permission was secured for sites that will generate 110MW of the total. Remaining sites are expected to secure permission in the first quarter of this year. The parks are primarily located along the east and southwest coasts.
Power Capital was established by Peter Duff and Justin Brown in 2011.
Mr Duff said Power Capital is “engaging with large energy consumers in Ireland who have commitments in terms of meeting their high energy demands through renewable sources”.
The Government has committed to generating 40pc of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.
That target is set to be missed, which would see the Government eventually have to fork out hundreds of millions of euro for carbon credits.