TANSTERNE BIOMASS

INVESTORS ON TRACK TO BE EXITED

FROM APRIL 2019

ENERGY FROM WASTE

FIRST PROJECT UNDERWAY

NEWS Q4 2018
WELCOME SUMMARY
3 TANSTERNE INVESTORS TO
BE EXITED IN 2019
SANDRA DONOVAN,
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
3 WORK ON OUR EFW
PLANT PROGRESSING WELL
It’s been a very busy quarter at Solar 21 and I’m delighted to share some
significant events and project news since our last newsletter.

4
After months of diligent work on our 22MW Energy from Waste plant in WORKS ONGOING ON BIO-
the UK, we expect construction to begin early in the new year.
GAS PLANTS

4
In late September, we gathered the full Solar 21 team in Dublin for our
annual Company Day. It’s an important opportunity for everyone to SOLAR PANELS
meet, learn from each other and work together to advance our exciting REFURBISHMENT TO BE
renewable energy projects. Since our founding in 2010, Solar 21 has COMPLETED SOON
grown enormously. In the last 2 years, our team has expanded by more
than 50%. We have added some great talent to the team in engineering,
construction, law and finance. Having everyone squeezed around SOCIAL MEDIA
the boardroom table, we realise how far we have come in 8 years! A
rewarding and defining moment for us. www.solar21.ie

Members of the team also attended the Climate Week conference.

There, they heard from global experts in renewable energy and green
www.twitter.com/solar21_
finance. Minister Richard Bruton TD gave an important keynote address,
calling for a cohesive government plan to address the challenges posed www.linkedin.com/company/
by climate change. solar-21

“AS A COMPANY, WE HAVE A STRONG COMMITMENT TO GIVING BACK.”

We recently conducted a staff survey on our corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. It came as no surprise that
98% of staff are very proud of our CSR program. The team selected Barnardos from a shortlist of three worthwhile
causes to support with our annual Christmas donation. Barnardos works directly with children and families in 40
centres across Ireland. They reach more than 15,000 children every year, many of whom are experiencing poverty,
neglect or homelessness. Our donation will play an important part in their work.
TANSTERNE INVESTORS
ON TRACK TO BE EXITED
FROM APRIL 2019
Tansterne Biomass, our first grand-scale
renewable power plant, is exporting energy
to the UK grid. We embarked on this exciting
renewable energy project in 2016 and the plant
began exporting energy to the grid in February
2018. What began as a 12-acre green field site is
now a functioning biomass plant which will burn
150,000 tonnes of waste wood per year at full
capacity. The wood is supplied by contractors in
the local Hull area. Without the plant, the wood
would go to landfill. Every year, an estimated
150,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will be saved
compared to a similar-sized coal plant. We will
begin exiting investors on the maturity of their
investments next year.Investors will receive their
initial investment plus a 31.5% return. Brokers are
contacting their clients to plan for the maturity
process which begins in April 2019.

Biomass is a well-established, eco-friendly way

of producing heat and power. It’s an important
part of the UK’s renewable energy supply and
accounts for 22% of UK renewable electricity. Michael Bradley, our CEO, and Sandra Donovan, our COO, visiting the
In essence, biomass uses nature’s continuous Tansterne Biomass plant
cycle of regrowth to provide a renewable energy
source.

FIRST ENERGY FROM WASTE PROJECT UNDERWAY

Operational Energy from Waste plant in Lincoln, UK

The first project in our Energy from Waste (EfW) portfolio is at the detailed design stage following completion of
ground investigations on site. Members of our team recently travelled to Sweden to study some of the most efficient
EfW plants in Europe. Sweden is a European leader in renewable energy, with 32 EfW plants.

Energy from Waste will play an important role in addressing the UK’s waste disposal challenges. It is a method of
recovering energy from domestic and commercial waste via combustion. The EfW plant generates revenues from gate
fees charged for the processing of residual waste (i.e. non-recyclable and non-compostable waste) and from energy
sales to the national grid or via private off-take agreement. The good news is, it provides a completely sustainable,
safe and affordable waste treatment solution, which complements recycling. Building on our success, we’re eager to
take on larger projects.

We are in the early stages of planning a 63MW EfW plant in the UK, the first in a pipeline of six projects. This marks
an exciting new chapter in the company’s growth and we are looking forward to growing our renewables portfolio
with these new projects.
WORKS ONGOING IN DEVELOPMENT OF BIOGAS PLANTS
Site clearance works have begun at Plaxton Bridge, the
location of our first biogas development. The works are
being overseen by Neil Wright, our Senior Contracts
Manager who has over 35 years’ experience in the energy
sector. This is the first of two biogas projects planned for
development in 2019. Our team is working hard to finalise
the optimum feedstock contract for our preferred Biogas
2 plant. Both projects are scheduled to ramp up in the
coming months. Together, they’ll reduce carbon dioxide
emissions by 55,000 tonnes per year. Biogas is a form of
renewable energy, generated from the natural breakdown
of organic material in a process called anaerobic digestion.
There is now enough biogas being generated to power over
one million homes in the UK.

The biogas projects will benefit from the non-domestic

Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI is part of the UK
Broker visit to an operational biogas plant government’s clean energy strategy, designed to stimulate
the development and growth of renewable energy technologies. Under the proposed scheme, the UK government
will pay an incentive for the heat and energy produced. The incentive will be guaranteed over a 20-year period.

SOLAR PANELS REFURBISHMENT TO BE COMPLETED EARLY

NEXT YEAR
As we reported in our previous newsletter, we’ve undertaken a
comprehensive refurbishment of our solar plants in Italy. This
time, it is underperforming solar modules that we are addressing.
The refurbishment works are in their final stages and will be
completed by the end of the year. We believe in being proactive
when it comes to our asset management and the refurbishment
is maximising the power output across the plants.

More broadly, Europe has reached an important tipping point

for solar power. The cost of generating solar energy has been
dropping steadily and is poised to match, and ultimately beat,
the price of conventional power. Even without government
incentives, solar energy is now often cheaper to produce than
burning fossil fuels. When we were first researching solar
energy investments in 2008, we knew this tipping point would
come. Ten years later, renewable energy is an important energy
alternative as we transition from our dependence on fossil fuels
to sustainable, clean energy.

Upgraded solar modules at one of our Italian plants

READ THE LATEST NEWS ON OUR WEBSITE

As a company, we’re focused on renewable energy, but we also believe in the power of
little things. With that in mind, we’ve been working to ‘green’ our Rathcoole office. Find
out more about the small changes we’ve made to protect the environment on our website.
www.solar21.ie

© Solar 21 Main Street, Rathcoole, Co Dublin, Ireland T: +353 (0)1 458 6599, marketing@solar.ie