Dublin-based NTR, an infrastructure asset manager, has acquired Castlecraig Wind Farm in Northern Ireland for £50 million ($62.4 million), adding 25 megawatts to its onshore NTR Wind 1 Fund.
NTR acquired the wind farm from RES, an independent renewable energy project developer with operations across Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific.
The project, which is expected to be operating by summer of 2018, will include 10 turbines and will provide enough clean electricity to sustain an estimated 18,500 homes in Northern Ireland.
Once operational, Castlecraig Wind Farm will invest in a local benefit fund including the provision of a local electricity discount scheme, which will be operated by RES on behalf of NTR.
The Castlecraig Wind Farm acquisition marks the 11th acquisition of onshore wind assets in the United Kingdom and Ireland by the NTR Wind 1 Fund, bringing total megawatts under management to just under 200 megawatts.
NTR Wind 1 Fund was launched in 2015 to invest a minimum of €80 million ($84.8 million) in pre-construction renewable investments in onshore wind projects in Ireland and the United Kingdom. The fund held a €250 million ($265 million) final close in February 2016 after a €50 million ($53 million) commitment from Strathclyde Pension Fund and a €35 million ($31.1 million) commitment from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.
The fund’s expected total equity and project finance capital requirements amount to approximately €670 million ($710.5 million). NTR is currently putting together plans for its second sustainable infrastructure fund, which it expects to launch in 2017.
This is the third acquisition of pre-construction wind assets by NTR from renewable energy developer RES. In May 2016, NTR acquired Altaveedan Wind Farm, an 18-megawatt wind farm in County Antrim, Ireland. To date, NTR has sourced 58 megawatts of onshore wind projects through RES.