Wind farm firm Mainstream Renewable Power in 100m euro deal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-23572846

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A power company with plans for a 125-turbine Scottish wind farm has struck a deal with a Japanese company worth 100m euros (£87m).

The Japanese trading house, Marubeni, has agreed to pay the cash for a 25% stake in Mainstream Renewable Power.

Last month Mainstream, which is based in Ireland, submitted a £1.4bn application to build a wind farm off the Fife coast.

It said the facility would be ready by 2016 and could power 325,000 homes.

The company said the development could create hundreds of direct and indirect jobs both during construction and its anticipated 25 years in operation.

The offshore project, called Neart na Gaoithe (meaning "strength of the wind" in Gaelic), would occupy an area of around 65 sq miles.

Mainstream has renewable energy sites in seven countries and is developing projects in England and Germany.

The company's chief executive, Eddie O'Connor said: "This investment is a game-changer for Mainstream allowing us to focus on accelerating our project portfolios across a range of markets as well as entering into new strategic jurisdictions which present strong value opportunities for our business.

"Having grown our company in the midst of the global financial crises, this type of long-term strategic investment is true testament to the strength and experience of our team as well as the quality and spread of our global project portfolio."