(Updates with comment on gas storage business in 5th para.)
UK utility SSE plans to dispose of some non-core assets put the money into low carbon activities, the Scotland-based company said May 26. It reported an 1% increase in adjusted operating profit to £1.506bn ($1.2bn) despite a coronavirus impact of an estimated £170mn,
The announced sale of its stake in Scotia Gas Networks would help SSE exceed the £2bn disposals target on completion, up from the £1.5bn so far. It is a financial investment for SSE, run largely independently and the synergies with the group’s low-carbon electricity businesses are less clear, it said.
SSE Renewables reported an operating profit of almost £732m (€845m) for the year ended 31 March 2021, up from just over £567m the previous year.
The utility provider s preliminary results also showed a drop in investment and capital expenditure from £342.7m to £294.3m.
During the year total renewable generation stood at 10,171GWh compared to 11,385GWh the previous year.
The board reported that the company s £7.5bn capex plan is on track with construction well under way at flagship SSE Renewables projects including Seagreen, Viking and the world s largest offshore wind farm at Dogger Bank
It has also continued to develop an attractive pipeline that would see SSE reach a run rate of at least 1GW of new assets a year during the second half of this decade and now expects to exceed its target for trebling its renewable output by 2030.
Lenalea Wind Farm enters construction
The 30.1MW wind farm is forecast to generate enough renewable energy to power more than 20,000 homes per year and is expected to be completed by 2023
Image: SSE Renewables
SSE Renewables and its development partner Coillte Renewable Energy have started constructing the new Lenalea Wind Farm project in Donegal, Ireland.
The 30.1MW wind farm is forecast to generate enough renewable energy to power more than 20,000 homes per year and is expected to be completed by 2023.
Lenalea Wind Farm has seen a joint total investment of €40 million (£34.4m) from both partners and is set to support County Donegal’s green recovery.
SSE Renewables and its co–development partner Coillte Renewable Energy have begun construction of their joint 30MW Lenalea wind project in central Donegal.
Delivery of Vestas turbines to Lenalea is expected to commence in spring 2023, with installation of the seven Vestas V117-4.2MW turbines in 4.3MW operating mode scheduled to take place at the site over the course of summer 2023.
Full wind farm commissioning and completion is expected in late 2023.
Delivery of the Lenalea Wind Farm project represents a joint total capital investment of around €40m by 50:50 co-development partners SSE Renewables and Coillte Renewable Energy.
The investment will help support County Donegal’s green recovery through the creation of up to 35 construction jobs at peak project delivery.
Updated / Wednesday, 21 Apr 2021
10:58
An aerial shot of Arklow, where SSE Renewables is proposing to develop the onshore grid infrastructure associated with the Arklow Bank Wind Park Phase 2
SSE Renewables has announced its intention to submit the first-ever planning application for the onshore grid infrastructure needed to connect an offshore wind farm to the country s national transmission grid.
The application marks a significant milestone on the road to starting the delivery of Ireland s offshore wind targets.
SSE Renewables will seeking planning permission to develop the onshore grid infrastructure necessary to connect the 520MW Phase 2 of Arklow Bank Wind Park to the electricity transmission grid here.