The Northern Ireland Investment Fund (NIIF) is part-funding a 9.4MW windfarm in County Tyrone.
NIIF, managed by CBRE’s lending team, has provided a portion of the development financing for the £12.9m (€14.9m) Gronan Wind Farm project.
The loan is secured by a “first charge over the asset”, ensuring NIIF is the primary creditor to recover funds if necessary.
Construction is currently underway on the windfarm, which is expected to be operational by early 2026 and will then be capable of exporting over 20GWh per year to the grid under a long-term power purchase agreement.
The wind farm is being sponsored by the Northern Ireland-based developer BSI Wind Limited, with advisory support provided by HCA Corporate Advisory.
NIIF is a £150m revolving fund designed to provide debt finance for real estate, regeneration, low-carbon and infrastructure projects while stimulating private sector investment in Northern Ireland. The latest investment in the wind farm marks the fund’s first deployment of capital into a low-carbon energy generation project.
John O’Dowd, Northern Ireland’s finance minister, said: “I welcome the announcement that the Fund will be supporting the development of Gronan Wind Farm. The Gronan Wind Farm meets the Fund’s key aims of supporting energy efficiency and low carbon projects.
“Wind energy is vital in supporting a sustainable and clean energy future and this project will help to utilise our abundant natural resources and promote the use of renewable energy.”
Will Church, executive director, lending at CBRE, said: “The deployment of these funds marks a significant milestone for NIIF, supporting a project where typical debt funding options were not available, and we look forward to seeing the project complete next year.
“The ability to ensure delivery of much needed renewable energy schemes with connectivity is core to our mandate.”
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