The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
City firm in wind farm talks
Parkmead Group, a “major European renewable energy developer” is in talks over a proposed 100 megawatt (MW) wind farm near Banchory.
Discussions are “progressing” and the Aberdeen firm, led by multimillionaire entrepreneur Tom Cross, hope they will lead to a joint venture.
A 100MW wind farm could power an estimated 110,000 homes.
The land at the heart of the proposals is at Pitreadie on Royal Deeside.
Mr Cross’s wife, Linda, and a business partner sold Pitreadie Farm to Parkmead a few years ago in a deal worth £4.9 million.
The company also took on £3.6m-worth of bank debt.
At the time, Mr Cross said Pitreadie was ideal for the installation of wind turbines, solar panels and biomass production facilities.
In a first-half results statement yesterday, Parkmead confirmed potential for a solar farm at the site.
Meanwhile, the company is conducting a study on another site in Scotland with the potential for a 30MW solar farm. It did not reveal the location.
And it is “evaluating options” to ramp up electricity generation at its Kempstone Hill wind farm, near Stonehaven.
The three turbines at Kempstone were acquired just over two years ago from the family behind G & J Jack Seafoods, of Fraserburgh.
Alternative Investment Market-listed Parkmead paid nearly £3.3m.
The small wind farm generated revenue of £700,000 during the year to last June.
The company said: “At Pitreadie, commercial discussions continue to progress with a potential European joint venture partner to develop this area.
“Following positive results from initial studies, further environmental surveys are scheduled throughout 2024 to support the planning work required to unlock a major 100MW wind farm application on this site.”
Parkmead also has onshore and offshore oil and gas assets in the UK and Netherlands.
The company reported pre-tax profits of £911,000 for the six months to December 31 2023, compared with losses of nearly £5.2m a year earlier.
Mr Cross, executive chairman, said “excellent” production rates from onshore gasfields in the Netherlands put Parkmead back in the black, “setting a base for future success”.
But revenue sank to just over £3.4m in the latest period, from about £11.1m previously.
Parkmead said the plunge in sales reflected a sharp fall in average Dutch gas prices.