By Susanna Twidale
LONDON (Reuters) - Infrastructure fund Greencoat UK Wind PLC (L:UKWG) has agreed to buy the South Kyle wind farm in Scotland from developer Vattenfall (VATN.UL) for 320 million pounds once the farm begins operating in 2023, the companies said on Monday.
Britain has a climate target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 which will require it to build several more power renewable power plants.
South Kyle will have a maximum capacity of 240 megawatts, able to provide enough electricity to power around 170,000 homes.
Swedish state-owned Vattenfall on Wednesday took the final investment decision to build the project, which it will construct and manage for a minimum of ten years.
The project is subsidy free and once it begins producing power, and is acquired by Greencoat UK Wind, the power will be sold to Vattenfall’s energy trading arm for at least 15 years under a power purchase agreement.
The timeline for construction will depend on government restrictions in place to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.
"In line with UK government guidance to ensure the safety of employees amid the COVID-19 pandemic, construction of the wind farm will begin once it is appropriate to do so," Vattenfall said in a statement.
Under current plans it is expected the wind farm would begin operation in early 2023.