March 16, 2012
England

Eye: Funding deal secures go-ahead for wind turbine project

East Anglian Daily Times, www.eadt.co.uk 16 March 2012

A funding deal has been agreed for a twin wind turbine installation which could meet up to 80% of the electricity needs of a north Suffolk business for the next 25 years.

Construction work at the site of the Roy Humphrey Group, off the A140 at Eye, could now start by the end of next month, with the first power expected to be generated during the autumn.

Installation specialist Wind Direct has agreed supply contract with turbine manufacturer Nordex, with the project being acquired by Triodos Renewables, a consortium of green energy investors, and funded by the associated Triodos Bank.

The two 2.5megawatt turbines are the vision of businessman Carl Humphrey who is keen to reduce carbon emissions from his family firm’s 88-acre site. As well as providing green energy, the turbines will allow the vehicle sales and service business to fix its electricity costs for the long-term.

And in addition to the green benefits, the completed scheme will also provide £5,000 per year towards community projects, with fund being administered through Mid Suffolk District Council.

Mr Humphrey said: “For four decades we have been at the forefront of the motoring and transport industry. Now we are leading the way by bringing in a modern form of power generation to supply not just Roy Humphrey (Car and Commercial) but many other businesses on our site. With all of the commercial agreements in place we look forward to Wind Direct commencing construction and bringing the wind project online later this year.”

Frances Karki, chief operating officer for Wind Direct, said: “These turbines will stand as a clear symbol of Roy Humphrey Group’s commitment to reducing their impact on the environment.

“Achieving financial close on the project is the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work by our development, construction and commercial teams. It is exciting that the project will now enter the construction phase.”

Matthew Clayton, director for Triodos Renewables, added: “Triodos Renewables is delighted to have worked with the Roy Humphrey Group and Wind Direct to acquire this wind project, and we are very much looking forward to working with them throughout the construction and operation of the project.

“The addition of this project increases our sustainable energy capacity by 13% to 42MW. The ‘brown field’ nature of the site fits well with our strategy to develop sensitively sited sustainable energy. We are also pleased to have attracted finance from Triodos Bank to help fund the project.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/16/eye-funding-deal-secures-go-ahead-for-wind-turbine-project/