ITALY'S largest renewable energy firm has made its first investment in Northern Ireland after buying a wind farm in Co Derry.
ERG Renew has purchased the Brockaghboy facility from TCI Renewables in a multi-million pound transaction.
The deal will see ERG complete the construction of the farm while it will operate the facility jointly with TCI.
The farm outside Garvagh will feature 19 turbines and have the capacity generate up to 57MW of electricity.
Plans were submitted to Mid-Ulster Council in January.
TCI Renewables director Peter Craig said: "We are pleased to be working with ERG Renew under a development services arrangement where they finance the construction of Brockaghboy wind farm and we jointly work to delivering the operating asset and sharing the realised value of this high quality project."
Belfast law firm Pinsent Masons advised TCI on the disposal.
Energy lawyer Martin McGonigle said the deal was made despite challenging conditions, not least uncertainty over the future of subsidies for wind power generation.
"We are delighted to have completed this transaction with a structure that aligns the interests of TCI and ERG to optimise the value of the project throughout construction, but also provides both parties the protections necessary given the on-going regulatory uncertainty within the industry," he said.
"We believe the structure achieved successfully with ERG will be used increasingly on projects throughout Europe during periods of similar regulatory transition."
Meanwhile, Dublin investment firm NTR has secured a €21.5m (£16.6m) debt facility to complete the Ora More wind project in Co Fermanagh.
Construction is already under way on the six-turbine, 15MW facility which is due to be operational by the end of the year.
NTR chief financial officer Marie Joyce said: “This is the first project financial close since the launch of our new wind fund and we are very pleased to have partnered with Ulster Bank to achieve this important milestone. We expect 2016 to be a very active year for us as we finance and build out a number of projects that we have recently acquired.”
Neasa Quigley, head of the energy team at Carson McDowell Solicitors which advised NTR said it was a "substantial and significant project finance deal".
"The renewables sector in Northern Ireland is facing a challenging period and the investment in the region made by the NTR fund, which is backed by long term institutional investors to the tune of €2,550m (£1,972m), is very welcome.
“The renewables sector already makes a huge contribution to the economy in terms of job creation, securing energy supply and decarbonising the economy by increasing the percentage of green energy in the system. I believe there is scope to achieve much more if the regulatory and incentive framework is both appropriate and attractive and the potential for future investment such as the one announced today will largely depend on how that plays out.”
