DAVY VIEW

Amazon’s commitment to acquire energy from a soon-to-be-built wind farm is the first of its kind in Ireland; it may also herald the launch of the corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) market in the country. Not only would that create a second route to market (whereby future wind asset cash flows are underpinned by agreements beyond state subsidy regimes), it also provides comfort that any structural step-up in Irish electricity usage (from data centres or other large industrial connections) will not be curtailed by grid capacity constraints. Separately, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and the Environment has confirmed to us that the first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction will go ahead in 2019, allaying fears that this might have been delayed. Both developments should underpin on-going growth in the Irish wind asset market over the medium term and are therefore positive for wind asset owners, including Greencoat.