Eddie O’Connor’s £2bn Scottish windfarm wins legal battle

Businessman Eddie O'Connor's Mainstream Renewable Power has vowed to "move quickly" with the development of a £2 billion (€2.33 billion) wind farm off the Scottish coast after a bird protection charity's objections were defeated in court on Tuesday.

Mainstream’s 450-megawatt Neart na Gaoithe project off the east coast of Scotland and three other offshore wind farms were awarded planning consent by Scottish ministers in October 2014. The Scottish arm of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds objected to the consent and a petition for a judicial review of the decision was granted last July.

However, Scotland’s inner house of the court of session decided in favour of the Scottish ministers.

"We welcome the ruling," said David Sweenie, Mainstream's offshore manager for Scotland. "We plan to move quickly with all our partners to bring this project to construction."

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Turbines

The Neart na Gaoithe project will be capable of supplying all homes in a city the size of Edinburgh, which has a population of about 500,000 people, and create 500 jobs during construction and 100 permanent positions once operational, according to Mainstream. Rapid advances in offshore wind technology since Mainstream made its initial planning application in 2012 mean it will have to instal a maximum of 64 turbines – about half the number initially envisaged.

“As a nationally significant infrastructure project, Neart na Gaoithe will help Scotland and the UK meet their climate and energy goals and develop a world-leading offshore wind sector,” said Mr Sweenie.

The closest turbine will be almost 16km off the Scottish shore and the total site amounts to about 105sq km.

The legal victory comes at a time when Mainstream is seeking to raise at least €100 million of equity ahead of a planned initial public offering, paving the way for a New York Stock Exchange listing, which would most likely take place in 2018. Late last year, the group, which was founded in 2008, hired former Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley banker James P McGinnis to take charge of the group’s capital-raising efforts.

In addition to raising equity for the parent company, Mainstream is also involved in plans to build out multibillion-dollar renewable-energy projects across South America, Africa and Southeast Asia.