Airtricity signs wind energy agreement

, the renewable energy development division of

(SSE), has entered into an equal joint venture with

, a specialist wind energy developer based near

.

The joint venture is aiming to develop around 200MW of wind farm capacity in western Sweden, with the first wind farm scheduled to be in operation around 2011.

The development of this capacity is expected to require equity investment by Airtricity and Gothia Vind of around €30m each. Non-recourse debt is expected to account for around 80 per cent of the total cost of the investment.

The joint venture's plans are said to be part of SSE's intention to invest, on an equity basis, around £500m over the next five years in renewable energy in new markets and technologies.

'There is a rapidly rising demand for wind power in Sweden, and we believe that the joint venture with Gothia Vind will give us a platform to meet some of this demand and thereby establish a significant and growing presence in this important market,' commented Paul Dowling, chief executive of Airtricity