Element Power has announced that it has signed an option agreement to lease lands from Coillte, Ireland's leading natural resources company, which will enable it to consider wind farm development on some Coillte-owned sites in the Irish midlands, as part of a major wind energy export project.

The deal gives Element Power the potential to incorporate a selection of Coillte sites within clusters of wind farms being developed for the Greenwire project across the counties of Kildare, Laois, Meath, Offaly and Westmeath, for which the developers, Element Power intend to seek planning permission.

Greenwire is the first and only wind export project in Ireland with firm grid connection to the UK National Grid having earlier in the year secured two connection points in Wales with a view to delivering 3,000 megawatts of wind energy from Ireland to the UK by 2018. This agreement with Coillte further strengthens that position.

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CEO of Element Power Ireland, Tim Cowhig said: "This is another great milestone for Greenwire. In July we signed firm grid connection contracts with the UK National Grid and in November the UK published their Energy Bill facilitating the import of renewable energy into Britain. We now welcome Coillte as Greenwire’' first strategic partner and will be identifying others in reaching final definition of this ground-breaking project. We know that our experience of developing wind energy will deliver a project which will be a win-win to Ireland and the UK while simultaneously meeting the highest standards expected of the industry.

"We intend having option agreements with all landowners who wish to participate in this project completed and signed early next year with a view to submitting a planning application by the end of 2013. Those plans are firmly on course and this announcement gives our project substantial additional momentum," concluded Mr Cowhig.

(CD)