A longstanding West Lothian onshore wind farm is under new ownership after being acquired by leading renewable energy developer OnPath Energy.
OnPath, which has its Scottish office in Hamilton, has purchased the Pates Hill Wind Farm, which sits to the south of the village of West Calder, from GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd.
The seven-turbine wind farm has been operational since 2010 and has an installed capacity of 14MW, which is enough to meet the annual electricity needs of around 11,500 homes.
The community benefits package linked to the wind farm will be fully maintained by its new owners, with OnPath now looking at ways in which local involvement might be enhanced.
OnPath Energy (formerly Banks Renewables) now owns and operates a total of 12 UK onshore wind farms, including two in Scotland – the Kype Muir Wind Farm, which sits to the south of Strathaven, and the Middle Muir Wind Farm, which is located to the south east of Douglas.
It is expecting to commence the construction of three further onshore wind farms in Scotland – the Mill Rig Wind Farm near Darvel in South Lanarkshire, and Lethans and Lethans Extension Wind Farms near New Cumnock in East Ayrshire – over the next eighteen months, and it is also currently working towards securing planning permission for the proposed Bodinglee Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire and the Pond Flexible Energy Park near Bathgate.
OnPath Energy has more than 3GW of renewable energy generation and electricity storage capacity in its development pipeline, planning permission for up to 368 MW of renewable electricity generation and flexible energy storage projects, a further 417 MW in the planning system and 1,489 MW in the development pipeline.
The Pates Hill Wind Farm transaction also represents the company’s first acquisition since its own acquisition by Brookfield Asset Management in 2023 through the Brookfield Global Transition Fund II.
Richard Dunkley, CEO at OnPath Energy, says: “As we continue to develop our own renewable generation projects from first principles, we will also be looking to identify strategic asset transaction opportunities at every stage of the lifecycle, from pre-construction right through to operational wind farms and project repowering.
“The Pates Hill Wind Farm represented a strong fit with our development framework and its acquisition provides a positive outcome for all concerned, including the local communities that will continue to benefit directly from the revenues that it generates.”
Philip Kent, Chief Executive Officer at Gravis Capital Management, the Investment Adviser to GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd, commented: “We are pleased to be selling the Pates Hill Wind Farm to OnPath Energy, who we are sure will be excellent stewards of the asset and will continue to create benefits for all relevant stakeholders.”
Brookfield is one of the world’s largest owners and operators of renewable power plants, with over 35,000 megawatts of operating capacity worldwide, equivalent to the UK’s onshore wind, offshore wind and hydroelectricity capacity.
