Greencoat acquires 41.8 MW biomass plant in South Wales

Greencoat Capital has acquired Margam Green Energy Plant (MGEP) – a waste wood-fired biomass plant in South Wales, UK from Glennmont Partners.

MGEP has been operational since May 2019 and is one of the UK’s largest biomass plants, with a processing capacity of around 290,000 tonnes per year of waste wood. The facility’s net capacity of 41.8 MW can offset around 150,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

The plant combusts low-quality waste wood, which is supplied under a long-term, fixed-price supply agreement with Esken Renewables, the largest supplier of waste wood feedstock to the UK biomass sector.

The acquisition is Greencoat’s third investment in large-scale bioenergy plants, following the acquisition of Templeborough Biomass Power Plant in 2019 and Sleaford Renewable Energy Plant in 2020.

“We’re excited to announce the acquisition of MGEP, an almost identical asset to our existing Templeborough facility, with all the benefits of familiarity and previously established operating partners and processes,” said Minal Patel, partner at Greencoat Capital.

“We expect to continue expanding in this important sector, generating stable returns for clients while helping to decarbonise the UK’s electricity grid.”

Joost Bergsma, CEO and co-founder at Glennmont Partners, commented: “We are delighted to complete the sale of Margam to Greencoat, which represents a long-term investment in Welsh renewable energy infrastructure. We were pleased to work with Greencoat again following their purchase of the Sleaford plant in 2020.”