Irish Coillte-ESB have launched a new 50:50 joint venture FuturEnergy Ireland – focused on Renewable Energy development. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!
The two companies said in a statement that this semi-national partnership aims to help the country achieve its green energy goals. They plan to achieve this goal by developing a one gig watt ind energy project by twenty thirty enough to power more than five hundred thousand homes.
The company will operate independently of the two entities and will oversee the development of commercial wind farms.
It stated that it has the potential to “play a fundamental role in the recovery of the green economy by creating jobs in rural areas and developing green industrial sectors,” while also providing funding for local development and improving the facilities in host communities.
Coillte manages seven percent of Ireland’s land, and so far, the land has helped Ireland achieve its twenty twenty goal of providing forty percent of its electricity demand through renewable energy.
Coillte’s proposed wind farm project portfolio and its renewable energy division have now been transferred to FuturEnergy Ireland.
Most of the projects under construction are either preparing to enter the planning system or are in the planning process awaiting judgment.
The new company is led by Peter Lynch, former managing director of Coillte’s renewable energy division.
With the strong mandate of its two shareholders, FuturEnergy Ireland will benefit all stakeholders, including the local host community, by providing wind farm infrastructure, thereby having a lasting and positive impact on Ireland’s renewable energy industry.
So far, onshore wind power has been the main renewable technology, and it has brought huge benefits to Ireland.
The Climate Action Plan sets a goal of generating 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and onshore wind power will play an important role in achieving this goal.
Coillte, means the forest is a commercial forestry enterprise in Ireland, owned by the state, headquartered in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manages approximately seven percent of the country’s land and operates three businesses, its core forestry business, land solutions business, and a board manufacturing business called Medite Smartply.
The company was established in December 1988 and began trading in January 1989 when it took over forestry activities previously carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Ocean.
In 2016, the organization had an average of 862 employees. Coillte Manor covers an area of 4,450 square kilometers, of which seventy nine percent is forest; it manages more than fifty percent the country’s forest land.
During the 27 years of operation from 1989 to 2016, Coillte expand its forest and land area from 396,000 hectares to more than 440,000 hectares.
Operating profit increased from a loss of 400,000 euros to an operating profit of 64.9 million euros.
Turnover increased from 38 million euros to 287.7 million euros.
Log sales increased from 1.5 million cubic meters to 1.6 million cubic meters.
According to the Coillte website, twenty percent of its estates are managed with biodiversity as the main goal.
However, other entities questioned Coillte’s business-focused approach and the amount of land provided to native species.
In 2011, there was speculation that the Irish government might sell Coillte as part of cost-cutting measures. As of 2011, Coillte also tried to calculate the total economic value of its 445,000 hectares of forest.
According to reports, the organization was criticized in 2018 for payment and communication issues with some landowners
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