Tralee-based forestry consultant Peter O’Brien and Helen O’Brien, directors of Dromadda Beg Wind Farm Ltd, have sold the company for an undisclosed sum to Innogy, the German renewable energy company, it was announced this Monday.

The project consists of three turbines to be constructed near Listowel, Co Kerry, with a total capacity of 10.2MW. “Construction of the 144.5m turbines is set to begin in September, with commissioning scheduled for the second half of 2018,” Innogy said in a statement. Helen O’Brien owned the land involved in the project at the time of the planning application.

An Bord Pelanála granted planning permission for the wind farm in 2014, including environmental conditions. Nature conservationists had appealed Kerry County Council’s initial decision because of wildlife concerns, including the presence of protected hen harriers in the area.

I am very pleased to have made our first acquisition there, which is to be followed by others

“With the Dromadda Beg project, we are taking a first step towards entering the promising Irish onshore wind market, thereby implementing our expansion strategy,” said Innogy chief executive Peter Terium. “Ireland is an exciting market for us and I am very pleased to have made our first acquisition there, which is to be followed by others.”

Innogy is the renewable arm of RWE, Germany’s second-largest electricity generation company, and already operates power plants in the UK.

Also this Monday, the British renewable infrastructure fund Greencoat UK announced it had acquired the 30MW Slieve Divena wind farm in Co Tyrone from Infinis, another English-based operator. The transaction also includes a 60MW offshore wind farm in Liverpool Bay for a total price of £105m.

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