Wind turbine image via Connor McKenna
Start-ups that are looking to enter the growing wind energy market will now be able to avail of new financial and industrial aid after AIB and Enercon announced a joint deal to help smaller companies enter the market.
AIB and Enercon said they created the partnership following a recognition that the legal and technical advisory fees associated with raising capital were disproportionately high for smaller wind farm developers.
Enercon estimated that small wind farm developers in Ireland could save about €50,000 in transaction costs on a typical wind farm development as a result of the initiative.
“The availability of capital for small and medium-sized wind-farm projects, especially the sub-10MW projects, has been constrained over the last five years, partly due to the high transactional costs,” said AIB’s head of business banking, Ken Burke. “By taking the time to standardise the documentation and removing duplication in the process, AIB and Enercon have been able to cut due diligence costs.”
Continuing, Burke said that the same process had meant that smaller wind developers that were struggling to afford the high due diligence fees were then forced into selling their business to larger players.
This new initiative is largely expected to benefit farmers who are gradually investing in the technology to power their own farms.
