innogy: Market entry in Ireland

innogy begins construction of Dromadda Beg onshore wind farm
Entering new markets expands portfolio


innogy is resolutely implementing its expansion strategy for the Renewables division: by purchasing the consented 10.2 megawatts Dromadda Beg wind farm, the company has acquired its first onshore wind-power project in Ireland. The three wind turbine site in County Kerry in the southwest of the Republic of Ireland received planning approval in 2014. Construction of the 144.5-metre turbines is set to begin in September, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of 2018. innogy founded a subsidiary, Innogy Renewables Ireland Ltd, in September 2016 after taking a strategic decision to enter the Irish wind-power market and expand its activities in the area of renewable energies. In the UK, innogy is already one of the most important operators of wind power plants. Ireland is a logical step forward.

Peter Terium, CEO of innogy SE, explains: “During our IPO last year we underlined our intention to increase our renewables-based generation portfolio by entering new markets. These concrete activities now fulfil that promise. With the Dromadda Beg project we are taking a first step towards entering the promising Irish onshore wind market, thereby implementing our expansion strategy. Ireland is an exciting market for us and I am very pleased to have made our first acquisition there, which is to be followed by others.”

Hans Bünting, COO for Renewables of innogy SE, adds: “innogy has extensive experience developing, building and operating renewable facilities – on its own and together with partners. We want to drive our activities in Ireland through the acquisition of existing onshore wind projects as well as through the development of new projects.”

In addition to Ireland, innogy plans to enter other markets for renewables-based electricity generation, above all in North America. In addition to onshore and offshore wind, the technological focus will be on solar power. From 2017 to 2019 innogy intends to invest between €1.5 and €1.7 billion to expand its activities in the area of renewable energy.

Ireland’s wind market

As part of the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive, Ireland has set the goal of generating 40 per cent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2020. This goal can be met using onshore wind facilities. With an installed capacity of 3,000 megawatts, wind power accounted for 22 per cent of Ireland’s overall electricity production last year. Onshore wind farms in Ireland are typically compensated using Feed-in Tariff, which sets a minimum price for all electricity fed into the public grid.