UK 690 MW onshore wind firm officially launched

Ventient Energy Ltd, the UK’s third largest generator of onshore wind energy, and the largest non-utility owner of onshore wind, was officially launched last Monday.

With 34 wind farms located from Caithness to Cornwall, comprising 507 turbines and 690MW of installed capacity, Ventient Energy supplies the equivalent of 420,000 homes annually, offsetting 0.75 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year.

The company was formed by combining the Zephyr portfolio of 15 wind farms with 19 wind farms that were formerly owned by Infinis, with the entire portfolio of wind farms now owned by institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Asset Management. The announcement follows completion of a restructuring which moved Zephyr Investments Ltd and associated wind farms to the newly formed Ventient Energy.

As a result of these changes, asset management services previously undertaken by Innogy Renewable UK Ltd from their base in Swindon on behalf of Zephyr Investments are now performed by Ventient Energy’s team from its new headquarters in Edinburgh.

Approximately two-thirds of Ventient Energy’s power is generated in Scotland. With the creation of Ventient Energy, the top three UK onshore wind portfolios are all headquartered in Scotland, further demonstrating the economic value of the onshore wind industry to Scotland. 

Ventient Energy’s community fund payments will total £1.5 million in 2018, which will be utilised on qualifying community projects and initiatives around the wind farm sites.

Scott Mackenzie, CEO of Ventient Energy, said:

“We are excited to introduce Ventient Energy, now a major player in onshore wind energy. We are the largest non-utility owner of onshore wind in Britain. We are ambitious - committed to creating prosperity through safe and sustainable generation of renewable sourced electricity, through quality job creation and supporting the communities in which we operate.“The UK onshore wind market is fragmented, and Ventient Energy owns only 6% of market capacity at present, so we see plenty of opportunities to grow our installed capacity through consolidation.”