The Co-operative Bank in Manchester has agreed a £2.1m funding package for a north west company with plans to build a new generation of innovative 'energy farms'.
Lancashire-based Farmgen aims to build 50 environmentally-friendly anaerobic digestion power plants, which mimic the processes inside a cow's stomach to generate a methane-rich biogas.
The farm-based plants are fuelled by crops grown on site, and Farmgen has already agreed a deal to supply energy to Marks & Spencer.
The company is lead by Simon Rigby, former chief executive of the Leeds-based utilities infrastructure business Spice, which was sold to private equity outfit Cinven in September for £251m.
Farmgen's first plant at Carr Farm near Warton in Lancashire, which was formerly a dairy farm, is financed by a £2.1m loan from the Co-op, as well as funding from a group of private investors.
When fully operational next year it will generate 800kW of electricity – enough to power more than 1,000 homes.
Mr Rigby said: "It's a real lifeline for farmers and a big help for the UK economy. It gives farmers long term stability.
"It allows them to farm much more intensively, rather than just being subsistence farmers. It's going to breathe life into the countryside."
Farmgen was advised by a team from Manchester-based solicitors Heatons, which worked with the Co-op for nine months to secure the 11 year loan facility.
A team of six lawyers from the firm were involved in the project, advising on banking, corporate, construction, commercial and property matters.
Planning applications are currently being prepared for more plants across Lancashire, Cumbria and Staffordshire, with more sites being lined up across the country.
Partner James Flynn said: “This deal represented a new direction for the Co-operative but Farmgen’s plans for the plant are absolutely ground breaking.
“Farmgen’s overarching plan is to set up AD plants on farms across the UK. This could be a key driver in the country achieving its renewable energy targets, and we look forward to working with Farmgen on the future programme.
“For us, the energy sector is a big growth market for our business and so it is great to be involved in a project that is the first of its kind.”
View the original article here
2 comments:
A good post with some useful informaion, thanks for that.
Yet a another delevoper with ambitious plans to roll out plants across the UK. I think we need ask why Biogen Greenfinch havn't rolled out more plants to dates - because they're very difficult to get to financial close!
Keep up the good work with the blog though and let hope for many more plants in the UK in the near future.
A good post with some useful informaion, thanks for that.
Yet a another delevoper with ambitious plans to roll out plants across the UK. I think we need ask why Biogen Greenfinch havn't rolled out more plants to dates - because they're very difficult to get to financial close!
Keep up the good work with the blog though and let hope for many more plants in the UK in the near future.
Post a Comment