NTR announces corporate PPA with Almac Group to buy energy from Murley Wind Farm, Northern Ireland
Commercial operation is expected to be achieved in the second half of this year
NTR, a sustainable infrastructure investor and asset manager, is pleased to announce that the Murley Wind Farm has entered into a corporate power purchase agreement with Almac Group, a global leader in providing a range of expert services and support across the drug development lifecycle, headquartered in Craigavon, Northern Ireland and with operations across Ireland, including in Athlone and Dundalk.
The six-turbine project is expected to achieve commercial operation in the second half of this year when the power purchase agreement will commence, providing Almac with enough clean power to reduce carbon emissions from electricity at their Craigavon campus headquarters by 95%. Almac’s Craigavon campus has undergone significant expansion in recent years with Almac announcing hundreds of £millions of investment in 2022. The campus currently employs over 4,000 of Almac’s 7,000 global workforce.
The corporate power purchase agreement market is relatively nascent in Northern Ireland and the timing of operations and the scale of the output from Murley, a 21.6MW wind farm located in Co. Tyrone, will allow Almac to significantly reduce carbon emissions from the electricity they consume making it an attractive proposition for the Group.
Murley wind farm was acquired by the NTR Renewable Energy Income Fund II in 2022 and construction of the project is significantly advanced. The Fund has invested in onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage projects across six European countries. The operating assets in this Fund produces enough clean energy to power c. 180,000 homes annually further driving Europe’s clean energy transition.
Francisco Del Rio, Associate Director of Power Sales at NTR, said:
“We’re hugely excited to be partnering with Almac, an innovative pharmaceutical business based in Northern Ireland, on this long term corporate power purchase agreement. Corporate Such agreements play a critical role in not only supporting business’ sustainability goals but having a wider impact on driving the clean energy transition across Northern Ireland and the rest of Europe.”
Niall Harkin, Executive Director, Almac Group, said
“We are delighted to partner with NTR on this exciting project which will allow us to power the operations at our Craigavon site with fully certified renewable energy. Almac’s participation in this project is a crucial step on our journey to net zero and will significantly reduce carbon emissions from the electricity we consume.”
A&L Goodbody acted as legal advisors to NTR on the corporate power purchase agreement and Rabobank is the financing partner on Murley Wind Farm.
Almac was advised by E&Y Dublin on the commercial side of the Power Purchase Agreement and by Pinsent Masons Belfast on the legal side.
