Electricity plant for Portrush

A renewable energy company is to build a plant to produce electricity at a Portrush landfill site.

B9 Organic Energy, based in Larne, has joined forces with Craigahulliar Energy to develop and operate the first of several landfill gas projects it plans to exploit in Northern Ireland.

The plant will be constructed at the Craigahulliar landfill site and will turn gas from waste into around 850 kW of electricity, enough to power over 500 homes.

The facility will convert emissions from waste into electricity.

Power from the project will be sold to Airtricity under an initial three-year power purchase agreement. Richard Murphy from law firm Pinsent Masons in Belfast acted as lead adviser on the deal.

Funding for the project was sourced by London-based investment manager, Triple Point, which has been actively exploring funding opportunities for energy projects in Northern Ireland.

Ian McLennan of Triple Point said: “We are delighted to be playing our part to ensure that this energy source is being utilised in Northern Ireland to help deliver on government targets.”

Richard Murphy, a lawyer at Pinsent Masons in Belfast, said: “The market for small and medium scale renewables projects remains very attractive in Northern Ireland.

“(That is) due to enhanced support for certain technologies under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation scheme, the main incentive scheme to encourage renewables.”

“The market for small and medium scale renewables projects remains very attractive in Northern Ireland due to enhanced support for certain technologies under the Northern Ireland Renewables Obligation scheme, the main incentive scheme to encourage renewables in the province,” he said.

“Biomass developments of this type will be an increasingly important part of the energy mix as we transition to a green economy.”

The project has been financed by London investment company Triple Point.