GREEN ENERGY group Gaelectric has raised almost €14 million to fund the development of part of its US operations.
The Irish-based company confirmed yesterday that it has raised $18 million (€13.5 million) from European private equity players in the form of a debt/equity hybrid instrument.
It plans to use the money to book capacity on two interconnectors in the western US that will allow it to sell electricity from a series of wind farms that it is planning to develop in Montana.
The interconnectors are operated by Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in the Pacific northwest, which is part of the US Department of Energy, and North Western Energy (NWE) in Montana itself.
Gaelectric has booked a total of 960megawatts (MW) – this is enough to supply power to over 300,000 homes – on the interconnectors, and the electricity is due to flow in the period between 2014 and 2016.
The power will be transmitted from Montana to population centres in the northwestern corner of the US, which is known as the Pacific northwest.
Gaelectric chief executive Brendan McGrath said yesterday that the company was the first wind-developer based in Montana to book capacity that would allow electricity generated from wind power in the state to be exported direct to the Pacific northwest.
“The funding we have announced today will enable Gaelectric to advance the development of key sites in Montana, with power delivered via the Bonneville Power Administration network and North Western Energy networks,” he said.
Gaelectric has options over 250,000 acres in Montana, and says its medium-term objective is to get wind farms with a total capacity of 2,000MW to the stage where they are ready to be built.
The company said yesterday that a recent study by California-based consultancy E3 – Energy and Environmental Economics Inc – found that of 12 states in the western US, the cost of producing energy from wind was lowest in Montana.
Gaelectric has operations in Ireland, Europe and the US.
Last week the company secured planning permission for a wind farm with a capacity of 11.5MW at Cregganconroe, Pomeroy, Co Tyrone. The company intends spending about €22 million on the project.
