IGas agrees solar farm development deal with Iona Capital

IGas Energy has agreed a heads of terms with Iona Capital, it announced on Monday, which it described as an investor with a “long track record” of investing in UK renewable energy projects.

The AIM-traded firm said that under the heads of terms, the two companies would jointly develop utility-scale solar farms in the UK, initially leveraging the “strong” landowner relationships that IGas had through its history of onshore oil and gas operations.

It said the first of what was expected to be several similar projects would be situated in southern England, and will be 25 to 40MW in size.

IGas said it would contribute its planning and infrastructure expertise, while Iona would provide non-recourse project finance.

During the development phase costs would be shared, and throughout the project lifecycle, IGas and Iona would each own 50% of the project.

“This is another example of how we can leverage the group's existing operational expertise as the UK's largest onshore operator and use our existing business platform to play an important role in the UK's transition to net zero,” said chief executive officer Stephen Bowler.

“We are keen to develop our relationship with Iona and other partners as we seek to maximise value using existing assets and skill sets within the business.”

At 1449 BST, shares in IGas Energy were down 0.59% at 16.01p.