Anesco Secures Trio Of O&M Contracts In Ireland

Anesco has expanded its presence in Northern Ireland after being awarded solar operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts by investment groups Foresight, Downing LLP and Blackfinch Energy.

The first contract will see Anesco building on its existing relationship with Foresight Group, with the addition of a 15MW ground mount solar asset in County Armagh.

Following a competitive tender, Anesco has also been awarded a contract by Downing LLP to maintain a 10MW rooftop solar portfolio, comprising of three large commercial rooftop solar schemes, along with 1,300 domestic rooftop solar installations.

While a third contract, awarded by long standing customer Blackfinch Energy, will see Anesco maintaining a 5MW ground mount asset in Cookstown.

Steven Hughes, Director of Portfolio, Foresight Group: “Working with an O&M team that reacts quickly and helps manage our assets in a way that optimises their performance, is very important to us. We have a great relationship with Anesco and it's a pleasure to be building on that with the addition of this latest site in Northern Ireland.”

Tom Moore​, Partner at Downing LLP, commented: “Ensuring the performance of our solar assets is maintained and that they are operating at their maximum efficiency is our top priority. Anesco was a natural choice for us, being very experienced and with a strong track record in the field of solar O&M.”

Guy Lavarack, Investment Director at Blackfinch Energy, said: “We have enjoyed a long standing relationship with the Anesco team and were delighted to award them with their first O&M contract in Northern Ireland. It is great to see that they have gone on to secure additional contracts to expand their presence in this key market”.

The three new contracts mean Anesco's O&M team now has close to 1.2GW of solar and battery storage assets under its management across the UK, with further growth expected across Northern Europe later this year. This includes a portfolio of solar farms that Anesco has developed for Shell in The Netherlands.

Matt Harvey, Anesco Director of O&M, said: “We're delighted to be working with Downing LLP for the first time and to have built on our existing relationships with Foresight and Blackfinch Energy. With more assets coming on board this summer, we now have a well-established platform in the Irish market.”

He continued: “Our O&M services aim to not only fix problems but to prevent them, with complex data analysis and a deep understanding of the assets themselves resulting in industry-leading performance. This focus on proactive, data-driven maintenance, combined with the investment we have made in cutting-edge systems and processes, is leading to sustained growth.”

Anesco provides operation and maintenance services to owners of renewable energy assets. The company has also developed and constructed more than 115 solar farms and energy storage facilities and recently launched a new trading optimisation service.