27 Jan 2017
£11.4 million project financing for the Drumduff wind farm
Green Breeze Energy Ltd, a joint venture between GreenPower (International) Ltd (“GreenPower”) and Thrive Renewables plc (“Thrive”) has agreed financing arrangements for its Drumduff Wind Farm situated in West Lothian, central Scotland.
A senior debt facility of up to £11.4 million has been secured from Santander UK plc (“Santander UK”), with the balance of funding met equally between GreenPower and Thrive.
This will be the first project for either GreenPower or Thrive using GE turbines. The project will generate approximately 20,200 MWh per annum, equivalent to the yearly demand from 5,120 homes*.
* Based on an average UK domestic electricity consumption of 3,938kWh/annum (‘Energy Consumption in the UK’, November 2016, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
“We are delighted to have partnered with Thrive Renewables on the development and delivery of the Drumduff Wind Farm. This is another significant investment we are making to contribute towards both the Scottish and UK renewable energy targets. Raising project finance in the current regulatory environment in the UK is difficult and the completion of this deal reflects the strength of the GreenPower and Thrive teams and demonstrates the commitment and experience that Santander UK brings to this sector.”
“Investing in this three turbine wind project located on a disused coal mining site meets our objective of sensitivity siting renewable energy. The project was initiated by a family based developer, we are pleased to have been able to take the project forwards navigating the regulatory uncertainty. Working with GreenPower, an experienced developer and operator of renewable energy projects has brought great benefit to the project, complimenting Thrive’s team. We are now all focused on working with the team of suppliers to ensure that the project can commence delivery of renewable power this summer.”