Renewables investor Octopus has bought four newly constructed solar farms close to Dublin from Statkraft Ireland for €160 million.
The PV farms total 199MW in capacity and generate power for a notional 50,000 homes. Following the latest buy, ORIT’s total capacity of operational renewable energy assets reaches 735MW.
The PV farms entered commercial operations in late December 2023. The acquisition cost was part funded using a €80.6m debt facility provided by Allied Irish Banks and La Banque Postale.
Microsoft committed eighteen months ago to a 15-year PPA to offtake the farms’ electricity, securing future revenue for ORIT from the solar complex.
A nearby fifth site totalling 42MW currently under construction is set to become operational this year.
Under a similar arrangement to the first four sites, ORIT will acquire this project once it becomes operational, expected to be around Q3 2024, and this will be partly funded through an increase to the debt facility by up to €25.8m, which has been pre-agreed with the lenders.
Phil Austin, Chairman of Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust plc, commented: “We are pleased to have completed this substantial acquisition, which sees ORIT become the owner of Ireland’s largest solar complex which will deliver a substantial amount of green electricity”.
