The State’s largest waste management operator has completed the purchase of a biomass power station based at a site near Strabane, Co Tyrone.
Panda and Greenstar owner Beauparc — which was itself acquired by Australian financial services giant Macquarie from its founder Eamon Waters last year — said the deal for Tyrone Energy, the company that operates the station, “reinforces” its drive towards developing sustainable processes.
Tyrone Energy’s biomass power station, based at a site near the village of Artigarvan, became operational in 2012. It uses 25,000 tonnes of wood a year as biomass fuel, generating up to 21 megawatts of electricity, which it says is enough to power the nearby village.
“Tyrone Energy’s existing senior management team will remain within the business,” Beauparc said in a statement on Monday. “General manager Andy Luke will work alongside Beauparc’s management team to further develop innovative opportunities of generating energy from waste.”
The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyrone Electric, registered in the Republic, which is majority owned by KCII, in which former Business Post owner Conor Killeen’s and his Key Capital business partner Kyran McStay held a combined 80 per cent stake at the end of August last year, according to its most recent annual return.
The purchase is Beauparc’s sixth in the past 12 months, with the waste management giant having snapped up smaller operators such as Acumen Waste Services and B & M Waste in the UK.
Last year Macquarie bought Beauparc from its founder, Mr Waters, and Blackstone Investments for an undisclosed sum although market sources had previously valued the company at about €1 billion.
In a statement, Beauparc chief executive Brian McCabe said, “Tyrone Energy fits our appetite for innovative, sustainable energy projects that contribute to the transition to a low carbon economy. Its energy from waste station provides an essential outlet for waste that would otherwise be sent to landfill, converting it into sustainable electricity.
“The business has a proven record of excellence, and we look forward to working with its current team.”
