Coillte is to will explore a range of partnership and/or joint venture models in relation to its future renewable energy ambitions to develop in excess of 1GW of future wind projects.

The company also said that the process it is embarking on would consider options to maximise value in its existing wind assets, including the potential sale of part or all of its existing wind assets to fund/co-fund new development opportunities.

The firm has provisionally appointed IBI Corporate Finance and Capricorn to advise the company.

Chief Executive of Coillte Fergal Leamy said: "Our approach to maximising the potential of our future renewable energy plans and our existing assets is an integral part of the company's transformation strategy designed to enable Coillte to become the best forestry and land solutions company in Europe. This is being achieved through a relentless focus on operating cash and return on capital in each of our business divisions. We are making very good progress on achieving our ambitious strategy and this is a natural next step for us.

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"Our renewable energy business has exceptional potential and we need to make the right decisions to maximise that potential. We are evaluating a range of options in this regard to determine the most value enhancing and strategically attractive business model. Coillte's extensive land bank has enabled the company to develop a pipeline of 25 projects exceeding 1GW and the profile of these projects demonstrates significant diversity in terms of geographic split, size and wind resource. To put the scale of our ambition into context, 1GW would represent approx. 33% of Ireland's current renewable energy production, providing enough power to fuel up to a million households annually and shows our commitment to sustainability and making a significant contribution to delivering Ireland's renewable energy targets."

(CD/LM)