Bord Na Móna Avails €430 Million for Wind And Solar Projects in Ireland

Semi-state Irish company Bord na Móna has announced that it has secured EUR 430 million in banking facilities that will enable the company to complete and deliver renewable energy projects of about EUR 2.7 billion.

Bord na Móna said that the funding is the largest-ever for renewable energy projects for the company.

The debt facilities are a diverse portfolio. It has new EUR 160 million revolving credit facilities and EUR 180 million credit facilities from three banks. Bord na Móna said that the Bank of Ireland has renewed its EUR 90 million facility. The company will also have the option to extend the banking facilities two years further.

Ireland wants to produce 80 per cent of its electricity from wind and solar sources by the end of this decade.  Bord na Móna is expected to have a leading role in this renewables dash of Ireland as the company currently is involved in about 10 per cent of all renewable energy projects in the country.

Group treasurer Joe Coleman stated that the newly available funds offer necessary working capital to strengthen and expand the renewable energy portfolio of Bord na Móna. “Access to funding and ongoing support from lenders such as Bank of Ireland, BNP Paribas, and ING provides certainty and allows us to maintain our strong momentum,” he added.

Bord na Móna paints ‘the bigger picture’ while saying that the new funds will help in delivering additional renewable assets with a combined value of EUR 2.7 billion. Bord na Móna already delves in the development of wind, solar, biomass and biogas based energy generation.

Ireland has pledged to generate 70% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Last year EirGrid, state-owned power grid of Ireland, rolled out the list of successful bidders for the vital deployments of 414 MW onshore wind and 1534 MW solar under the Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 2 (RESS 2).