Barclays | Green Growth

Barclays continues its commitment to the renewable energy sector with a refinancing package of £47m for Tirgwynt onshore wind farm in mid-Wales.

Barclays has agreed refinancing for a Welsh wind farm that will provide enough renewable energy to power 21,500 homes.

Tirgwynt, near Carno in Powys, mid-Wales, is a 12-turbine onshore wind farm run by Belltown Power, which builds, owns and operates renewable energy sites across the UK.

Belltown announced that it has concluded the refinancing of Tirgwynt with a £47m long-term senior debt facility provided by Barclays, alongside a long-term power purchase agreement with the energy services company Engie.

The wind farm will deliver community benefit funding for the 25-year life of the wind farm.

Dan Allen, Investment Director for Belltown, said he was “delighted” to have completed the transaction, which would allow the company to “continue to grow its portfolio of renewable energy assets”. 

"With Barclays’ strong track record in supporting renewables projects, we saw our part in this key venture through the provision of debt finance as a natural fit."  ~ Neil Fleming, Director of Infrastructure and Project Finance Team at Barclays

“Working closely with the Belltown management team, we agreed a structure that works for both parties to help deliver the successful refinancing of the Tirgwynt Wind Farm, further demonstrating our continued commitment to the UK renewable energy sector.”

Onshore wind is one of the most affordable renewable energy sources, coming in cheaper per kilowatt-hour than electricity produced by offshore wind, solar panels and nuclear power.

As a result, onshore wind farms are expected to play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the UK’s power sector and in meeting the UK’s “carbon budgets”. These legally binding agreements place a restriction on the total amount of greenhouse gasses the UK can emit over a five-year period.

In 2010, onshore wind farms generated 7TWh – more than a quarter of the electricity supplied by British renewables at that time and enough to save six million tonnes of CO2, according to government figures. By 2020, it is expected to generate up to 30TWh.