AN Irish firm is to build a €2 billion wind farm off of the coast of Scotland.
Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd has secured a 15 year contract for the Neart na Gaoithe wind farm, which will be situated 30 kilometres north of the Torness nuclear plant in East Lothian.
It will be a 450mw facility, expected to be fully commissioned and producing electricity by 2020.
“What's unique about this project is that it will be the first time a UK offshore windfarm of this scale will be built using project finance alone,” said Andy Kinsella, chief operating officer with the firm.
The project has been proposed since 2009, when MRP first pursued the deal. With planning permission secured in October 2014, construction of the site is expected to commence later this year.
The battle for the contract for Neart na Gaoithe has been described as Britain’s electricity market’s first green energy auction. MRP will have the facility construction-ready in the coming months, in partnership with Siemens and GeoSea.
It is expected that the wind farm will meet the energy needs of the whole of Edinburgh – providing just under four per cent of the entire energy requirement of Scotland.
