Ancala Partners has now commissioned or acquired 11 investment projects through its portfolio company Green Highland Renewables with the completion of its latest hydro scheme at Loch Eilde Mor in the Highlands.
The £13.6 million scheme at Kinlochleven is a high head run-of-river scheme with a 2MW triple-jet Pelton turbine. The project has the highest energy generation of all GHR projects to date and also provides storage capacity due to the loch-fed nature of the project.
The projects completed with GHR so far have a total capacity of 16 MW, which is sufficient to power 20,000 homes.
Ancala – an independent mid-market infrastructure investment manager – believes the UK hydro sector offers the potential to deliver attractive, low-volatility returns.
Since London-based Ancala invested in Green Highland Renewables in April 2015, the company has experienced significant growth, which has included the development of nine hydro schemes and the acquisition of a further two hydro sites.
Earlier this year, Ancala raised £51 million of debt facilities for Green Highland Hydro, the asset ownership vehicle for hydro power assets developed by GHR. The facility has been used to support construction of the schemes and refinance capital invested in operational assets. It followed a quadrupling in the size of GHR’s portfolio since Ancala’s initial investment.
Spence Clunie, Managing Partner, Ancala Partners, commented: “Prior to our investment, Green Highland Renewables was largely a development focused company but now it is also a portfolio owner and operator of a high quality and diversified portfolio of hydro assets. Loch Eilde Mor marks another significant milestone in its growth.”
9 Oct 2017
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy