Situation

We own approximately 11,000 hectares of land. We have undertaken an assessment of our land available land for consideration of wind development and concluded that some land assets held by us could be optimized by contracting to a wind developer to produce wind energy and enable renewables, supporting the company’s long-term objectives. 

Contracting land for wind energy production presents lower risk to us in comparison to owning wind turbines, as the responsibility of development risk, maintenance or turbine replacement is removed. This opportunity also allows us to collect revenue or to purchase REGO electricity, reducing carbon emissions. 

Action 

We have engaged with industry to assess the potential benefits associated with a collaborative approach to wind development across its upland assets. 

The current opportunity is for us to establish a contract with an appropriate developer to fund the development of a wind farm. Remuneration may be in the form of electricity delivered under contract conditions, and associated REGOS (or equivalent), or via earned income. 

A market engagement process has identified several opportunities which are worthy of further investigation. 

Results 

Merchant wind does not require significant investment from us and has the potential to generate approximately £180k+/year for a 30MW scheme.