Irish solar PV developer Power Capital Renewable Energy (PCRE) is to spend about €200 million over the next two to three years on building out assets it has acquired from Terra Solar.
PCRE has just acquired a majority interest in a 400 megawatt (MW) solar portfolio from the Dublin-based energy company founded by a pair of former private equity executives.
The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed but PCRE said it plans to complete development of the solar farms located in counties Cork and Wexford in partnership with Terra over the next five years. Construction is due to commence next year with the first plants expected to be operational by the middle of 2023 and the project completed by 2027.
The deal takes PCRE's total portfolio to 840MW. It said it expects about €200 million will be needed to build out the entire portfolio, with equity being provided by Paris-based backer Omnes, and with debt to be raised with Irish and international lenders.
PCRE, which was founded in 2011 by Peter Duff and Justin Brown, operates in Ireland, Britain, Germany and Greece. Omnes, a private equity and infrastructure investor with €5 billion in assets under management, took a majority stake in the company late last year.
Portfolio
With Omnes’s backing, PCRE is focused on building a significant solar PV portfolio in Ireland, with plans to be the dominant player in the sector locally over the next decade.
Terra Solar was founded by 2016 by David Fewer, who once worked for Neil O'Leary's Ion Equity when it held an ownership stake in Topaz, and Andre Fernon, who was a property director for John Gallagher's Crownway Investments at the height of the property boom.
The business, which is based at University College Dublin’s Nova centre for start-ups, is to retain an equity stake in the developments it has sold on while also focusing on growing its remaining development pipeline of 600MW.
“These sites represent over four years of intensive local engagement with landowners, communities and planners to ensure that Ireland develops high quality solar farms to help meet its 2030 renewable targets,” said Mr Fewer.
PRCE said it will continue to acquire assets in the market along with the continued development of its own pipeline over the coming years.
