Solar 21 faces asset sale delays as dispute arises over work at plant
Solar 21, the Irish renewables investment firm currently undertaking a High Court approved scheme of arrangement to repay thousands of investors, is facing new holdups in its bid to raise funds.
The plan to sell its currently decommissioned Tansterne Biomass Plant in East Yorkshire, and also sell the development rights to a proposed similar plant in North Lincolnshire, have both been hit by delays.
Solar 21 had hoped to have Tansterne operational by January 2024 in order to sell it by the end of the year – but it has now told investors in a report that it may enter a dispute with the contractor on the site. The report said that “a number of unforeseen issues have been encountered”.
The required progress had not been made, it said, adding that management was having “urgent meetings” with the contractor.
It claimed it was possible that Solar 21’s operating subsidiary would “enter into a dispute with the contractor regarding the contractor’s performance” and result in the timeframe for the recommissioning being extended, with further funding potentially required.
“There is a comprehensive and court-approved supervisory and reporting process in place, and we do not want to cut across it,” said Andrew Dixon, non-executive chairman, in response to a request for comment.
Dixon, an independent restructuring expert, was appointed in December following the resignation of founder and CEO Michael Bradley in November.
In a further blow, Martin
Callanan, the British undersecretary of state currently considering whether to greenlight the North Lincolnshire project, announced he would once again extend the approval deadline by three months until mid-May to give time to examine further information sent by the Irish company.
That decision, when it comes, will have significant implications for Solar 21’s proposal to sell on the development rights for as much as £100m. Dixon noted that decisions on a number of other similar projects had also been delayed.