Global power company AES has added to its Northern Ireland portfolio with the £99 million acquisition of a 1246 MW natural gas fired power plant in County Antrim.
The acquisition of the Ballylumford power station will bring AES's Northern Ireland generating capacity to 1868 MW. The plant consists of three separate power plants and is the largest electricity generating site on the island of Ireland.
“Ballylumford Power Station will increase AES capacity while providing important fuel diversification and will complement our nearly two decades of operations experience serving the Northern Ireland market,” said Paul Hanrahan, president and chief executive officer of AES. “As a result of our strong liquidity and our familiarity with Northern Ireland, we were able to move quickly on the opportunity and acquire a business that complements our fleet.
“The Ballylumford acquisition will contribute accretive near-term earnings, creating value for our shareholders.”
AES made its first international investment in Northern Ireland in 1992 with the acquisition of the Kilroot power plant. In 2009 it expanded Kilroot with the addition of 84 MW of peaking capacity and today the plant uses coal and oil and has a total operating capacity of 622 MW.
Ballylumford consists of a 600 MW combined cycle facility, a 540 MW gas-fired plant and a 106 MW open cycle gas turbine plant.
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