GIB-backed fund invests GBP 10.5m in N Irish AD plants

A fund in which UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) is a cornerstone investor, has poured GBP 10.5 million (USD 15.5m/EUR 13.7m) into two on-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) plants with combined capacity of 3.5 MW in Northern Ireland.

The Foresight Group LLP-managed Recycling and Waste LP (RAW) Fund has committed GBP 8.7 million to a 3-MW plant near Ballymena, which is expected to be one of the first globally to be fuelled solely by poultry litter, GIB said on Monday.

Other investors in the project are Foresight AD EIS Fund, Invest Northern Ireland and Xergi, which has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts. The plant is being developed by Stream BioEnergy Ltd and is due to be completed in March 2018.

RAW has also invested GBP 1.8 million in the 500-kW Gorthill plant in County Londonderry, with SQN Capital Management providing the same amount. Williams Industrial Services will build and operate the project.

The two plants are expected to produce a total of more than 20,000 MWh of electricity per year, enough to power about 5,000 households.

"These latest investments bring the number of on-farm AD plants supported by the GIB to six, five of which are located in Northern Ireland, demonstrating the growing demand in the sector," said Edward Northam, GIB head of investment banking.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.478/EUR 1.303)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!