NTR closes financing for 18MW Irish wind farm

NTR has announced that it has closed its second project debt facilitiy this year with Ulster Bank Ireland DAC with the financial close of a £27.3 million (US$33.5 million) project finance debt facility.

This debt facility will be utilized to finance the construction of the Altaveedan wind farm, a 18 MW wind farm based in Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, acquired by NTR in May.  With construction underway, Altaveedan is expected to be operational in the spring of 2017.

The Altaveedan wind project will deploy nine Enercon 2MW turbines and will generate enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 homes with clean energy. 

NTR has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with SSE Airtricity, SSE plc’s retail energy brand operating in Ireland’s all-island Single Electricity Market (SEM).  The agreement is for a period of 15 years covering existing SEM arrangements as well as new market design arrangements under the Integrated Single Electricity Market (I-SEM), due to come into operation by the end of 2017. This is the second such PPA that NTR has entered into with SSE Airtricity, following the similar agreement earlier this year for NTR’s 15MW Ora More wind farm in Co. Fermanagh.

Carson McDowell acted as advisors to NTR and A&L Goodbody were advisors to Ulster Bank. Everoze acted as technical advisors for Ulster Bank.

NTR’s Chief Financial Officer, Marie Joyce said;

“We are very pleased to have partnered once again with Ulster Bank on this transaction.  This is the second facility transacted with Ulster Bank and the third financing successfully closed by NTR within the past six months raising just over £90 million (c.€100 million) senior debt to finance the construction of 57MW across three projects.”

Head of Corporate Banking and Capital Markets for Ulster Bank, Stephen Masterson said:

"Ulster Bank is delighted to continue to support NTR as a leading and dynamic operator in the growing renewables market through the Altaveedan wind farm in Co. Antrim.  As a Bank we are determined to support sustainable businesses and clean energy and NTR is foremost in this regard."