Competition watchdog notified of ESB Coillte joint venture

A proposed joint venture (JV) between the ESB and Coillte which would develop and construct renewable energy generation facilities has been notified to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

In February of last year, the ESB announced that it was in discussions with Coillte, which, if successful, would lead to the establishment of a new joint venture development company to deliver 1,000MW of renewable energy by 2030.

Capacity

At that time it said JV would build on “the successful track record of the two companies working together at Raheenleagh and Castlepook wind farms, in Co Wicklow and Co Cork respectively, where approximately 70MW of operational capacity has been developed”.

The projects, understood to be mainly wind farms but potentially some solar developments, would be “sensitively located, building on ESB’s and Coillte’s long experience of working with communities across the country,” the ESB said.

Coillte has previously said that if Ireland is going to meet its binding national commitments on combating climate change and de-carbonising the economy, it must develop successful renewable energy projects.

Coillte Nature

In June of last year, Coillte announced a new not-for-profit entity, Coillte Nature, which will focus on the environment and recreational forests.

It is to target the delivery of new woodlands facilitating species diversity, biodiversity and carbon sequestration as part of the Government’s national forestry programme. It will also see the conversion of certain commercial Coillte forests to recreational forests.

With the establishment of Coillte Nature, the company is seeking to advance its sustainability agenda by undertaking large discrete projects with a separate non-commercial focus.

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