SSE Renewables has agreed to sell its Slieve Divena 2 wind farm in Northern Ireland to Greencoat UK Wind for £51m (€60m).
The transaction for the 18.8MW wind farm near Ballygawley, in County Tyrone, is expected to complete by the end of March 2020. SSE intends to use the proceeds to reduce net debt.
SSE Renewables is entering into an asset management agreement to manage the wind farm on behalf of Greencoat following the sale, while SSE’s retail arm in Ireland, SSE Airtricity, will continue to have the offtake of the green energy generated at the site.
SSE Airtricity will continue to operate the annual community fund for Slieve Divena 2 on behalf of the new owners.
Slieve Divena 2 comprises eight 2.35MW Enercon E-92 wind turbines.
The wind farm entered commercial operation in 2017 and has 0.9 megawatt hour Renewable Obligation Certificates under Northern Ireland’s support scheme.
Slieve Divena 2 is adjacent to the 30MW Slieve Divena wind farm, which Greencoat acquired in 2017.
SSE Renewables managing director Jim Smith said: “The sale of Slieve Divena 2 to Greencoat UK Wind extends our longstanding relationship with Greencoat as a renewable investment partner on wind energy assets in the UK and Ireland.
“This sale is a further example of how SSE Renewables is creating high quality assets aligned with the transition to a low carbon economy.”
Smith said strategic asset disposals are in line with the company’s “longstanding approach” to create value from the development and operation, as well as ownership, of renewable energy assets, and supports its ongoing future investment strategy to develop and build more onshore and offshore wind farms in the UK and Ireland.
Greencoat UK Wind chairman Tim Ingram added: “We are delighted to acquire our eighth wind farm from SSE Renewables, which is testament to the longstanding relationship we have developed.
“Slieve Divena 2 is a high quality, ROC-accredited asset sitting alongside our Slieve Divena wind farm and is a natural addition to our portfolio of operating UK wind farms, which now has a net generating capacity of almost 1GW.”
Following this transaction SSE Renewables will own 689MW of onshore wind farms on the island of Ireland, supplying low carbon electricity from the largest renewable energy portfolio to the country’s all-island energy market.