BayWa r.e., has announced that it has sold its Tralorg Wind Farm in South Ayrshire to RPMI Railpen (Railpen), one of the UK’s largest pension funds.
Tralorg is an eight-turbine wind farm located approximately 30km south of Ayr, Scotland, with an installed capacity of 18.8MW – enough to power around 15,000 homes. The wind turbines have been erected and the project is expected to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2020. Grid connection has already been secured with works underway.
Katy Hogg, Global Director of Wind Projects at BayWa r.e., commented: “Tralorg is a high wind speed site designed with efficient and high-quality turbines. It will make a great contribution towards delivering low carbon electricity for UK consumers, both supporting the Scottish Government’s renewable energy aspirations and helping the UK make progress towards its Net Zero targets.”
It is one of the last onshore wind farms to be built under the UK’s onshore wind Contract for Difference (CfD) regime, having secured a 15-year CfD in 2014 through a competitive bidding process.
Gordon MacDougall, Managing Director, BayWa.r.e. UK Ltd. “We’re very pleased to have secured this first project sale with Railpen. We look forward to developing an ongoing relationship with them and, once the project is operational, ensuring that the wind farm gives them the best return on their investment through provision of ongoing asset management services.”
“It will be one of the last UK onshore wind farms to benefit from CfDs and it’s clear that we now need a suitable replacement framework to encourage the development of and investment in wind and solar assets in the future. A level-playing-field is important if all generation sources are to play their full roles in furthering the energy transition. We are actively seeking new sites and partners to take forward further wind and solar projects around the UK.”
Railpen is one of the UK’s top five pension funds. It is responsible for investing railway pension scheme funds on behalf of members, with the goal of paying members’ pensions securely, affordably and sustainably. To achieve this, it invests in projects that generate strong investment returns over the long-term.
Lewis Vanstone, Deputy Portfolio Manager of Railpen’s Long-term Income Fund, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Tralorg Wind Farm. The wind farm’s sustainable, long-dated and asset-backed income characteristics dovetail perfectly with our core investment themes. The experience and expertise of our partner BayWa r.e. ensure this deal will be of great long-term value for members.”
BayWa r.e. has an established but still expanding project development and asset management team in the UK, with project activities spanning back to 2010. To date over 500MW of wind and solar projects have been realised in the UK. The company also recently started construction of its Scottish Inverclyde Wind Farm, one of the UK’s first subsidy-free wind farms, albeit one that was developed before the UK’s support schemes were closed to onshore wind projects. The wind farm will comprise eight 110 metre Enercon 3MW turbines, with a total installed capacity of 24MW.
