Small is beautiful for onshore wind farm investors, it is claimed

The abandonment of onshore wind by the UK's big six energy companies represents a golden opportunity for private investors, an expert says.

It means that the main utility companies such as Centrica, EON, RWE nPower, EDF, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern Energy are set on developing offshore wind farms and thus opening up onshore investment, according to Richard Crosbie Dawson, managing director of renewables investment specialist FIM Services.

'The abandonment by the big utilities of onshore in favour of offshore wind means there is a major investment opportunity in onshore wind farms in the 10MW to 25MW range. There are now fewer players in the market for these smaller facilities and the planning system is becoming less burdensome so more are coming online all the time,’ he explained.

‘Potential investors should be in no doubt that it is smaller onshore wind farms that will provide the best return on their money over the next decade,’ he added.

Oxfordshire based FIM provides investment advice on 55,000 hectares of land, and has funds under management of £215 million across a range of asset backed investments and renewable energy projects.

Acting on behalf of landowners to market potential wind farm sites to developers, the company currently has 800MW of potential capacity in the pipeline.

Financial completion has just been achieved for the Darracott Moor wind farm in North Devon. Equity was raised from FIM's private clients, and a debt facility was agreed with the Co-operative Bank to provide a 15 year loan to assist in the financing of the project.

Three Gamesa G5x Class IA 850kW wind turbines, with a combined total capacity of 2.55MW, are being installed. The grid connection into Western Power Distribution's local distribution network has been arranged and commissioning is expected shortly.

Jones Bros Civil Engineering UK was contracted to complete the civil work, with Power Systems UK installing the electrical systems. Natural Power Consultants Ltd provided technical due diligence and is providing project management support during the construction phase. McGrigors provided legal due diligence.