Foresight, GIB put GBP 20m in 15.8-MW N Ireland biomass project

Jul 30, 2013 - UK alternative asset manager Foresight Group and the Green Investment Bank (GIB) said Tuesday they are backing a 15.8-MW waste wood-to-energy project in Northern Ireland with a GBP-20-million (USD 30m/EUR 23m) investment.

The investment was made through UK Waste Resources & Energy Fund (UKWREI), a fund managed by Foresight in which GIB is the cornerstone investor. This is the second investment made by the fund and GIB’s first in Northern Ireland. The bank was established with GBP 3 billion of public funds last year.

The Evermore project, worth some GBP 81 million, involves the construction of a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Derry/Londonderry. Once up and running in 2015, it is to boost Northern Ireland’s renewable energy output by some 10%. The power produced at the site would be enough to power over 25,000 local households, GIB said in its press release. All of the electricity will be fed to the National Grid, while the heat output will be used for wood drying.

The CHP plant is to use 110,000 tonnes of wood per year via a long-term fuel supply deal with Stobart Biomass. GIB calculates that it will divert two million tonnes of wood from the landfill over its life. The biomass power plant will also avoid the emission of some 3.7 million tonnes of biomass.

Foresight has secured co-investment from GCP Infrastructure Fund Ltd (GCP) and Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S and cooperated with Investec Bank plc and Eksport Kredit Fonden in structuring and financing the Evermore project.

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