Investment will lead to the installation of on-site turbines with large energy users

ESB Novusmodus has today announced that it is leading a €20m investment in Irish ‘on-site’ wind energy developer Wind Energy Direct (WED).

The funds will be used for the development of on-site wind projects for large energy users across Ireland and Great Britain, adding up to 75MW of wind generation capacity. WED’s business model focuses on the installation of turbines at locations with a significant energy requirement such as manufacturing facilities, hospitals, data centres etc. WED plans to invest approximately €100m in total over the next three years.

The company’s innovative offering allows its customers to lock in their energy costs at current levels for 5, 10, or 15 years, breaking the link with energy inflation. In addition, each MW installed reduces carbon emissions by up to 1500 tonnes of CO2 per annum allowing the host company to play its part in climate commitments, all without any capital outlay on their part – WED will construct, own and operate the turbines.

Announcing the funding, Michael Aherne of ESB Novusmodus said: “WED will allow Irish businesses to maximise the opportunity for auto-generation and for exploitation of their wind and land resources with a well funded, expert developer. Their offering represents an excellent economic and environmental proposition for large energy users at a time when we need to move from our over-dependency on fossil fuels.”

Welcoming the investment, Wind Energy Direct Managing Director, Dominic Costello said:  “This is a significant vote of confidence in Wind Energy Direct, from the most experienced energy supplier in the Irish market. The investment brings together WED’s business model and entrepreneurial spirit in the renewable energy field with the financial and technical strength of ESB Novusmodus.

The development of our pipeline of projects will lower energy costs for our customers, hedge them against the volatile energy market, help reduce Ireland’s emissions, create 10 new jobs immediately bringing the WED team to 20 and create over 80 indirect jobs. In addition, I would like to acknowledge Enterprise Ireland and Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland for their support since our inception five years ago.”

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/green-tech/item/21307-esb-heads-20m-funding-into/
http://www.businessworld.ie/livenews.htm?a=2761293
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0408/wed-business.html

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