Quintas launches 'solar farm' plan

An Irish company is raising €40 million from investors for a solar energy project in Spain.

Cork-based Quintas Wealth Management is seeking to cash in on Spain's generous support for renewable energy by investing in "solar farms", a system for generating electricity from solar energy.

The investment will be made through its local subsidiary, Quintas Energy, which will provide the equity.

Its adviser is the local office of Ernst & Young and Spanish bank Banco Santander will provide debt of up to 80 per cent of the purchase price of each farm, which will provide 100 kilowatts (kw) of electricity.

The company plans to invest in 40 farms, which will provide a total of 4,000kw or 4 megawatts.

This will give the project the capacity to generate a total yearly turnover of over €4 million, the company says.

The Spanish government provides generous support for electricity generated from renewable energy sources. This means that the state is underwriting the price at which the power is sold at into the national grid.

Quintas said yesterday that this means its farms will be able to generate a return of 11 per cent annually. Managing director Declan O'Halloran said the supports have made solar energy viable and profitable.

Quintas Wealth Management has been investing in projects in Ireland, Europe and the US. Recently it bought residential properties in the Tribeca quarter of New York city and in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The supports and incentives from governments for renewable energy have prompted the company to move into that area. The incentives available in Spain have also attracted Irish wind energy group, Airtricity, to the region.