Wind turbine firm Infinite Energy

A company that develops wind turbine installations for commercial and agricultural landowners has secured more than ￡16m in new funding to help finance its next 10 projects.

Infinite Energy was set up three years ago and used an initial ￡6.9m funding round from venture capital trust Albion Ventures VCT to finance its first four projects.Changes in financial legislation mean venture capital trusts can no longer invest in projects designed to take advantage of feed-in tariffs, so Albion Ventures has formed a plc called Albion Community Power.
The new company has agreed to provide ￡15m in finance to support Infinite Energy’s next 10 projects.Infinite Energy, which has offices in Cardiff and Bridgend, has also signed a ￡1.6m funding deal with Finance Wales.The company has so far brought four turbine installation projects into operation, two near Milford Haven, one at Ebbw Vale and one near Bridgend.

The Bridgend one is the smallest at only 80kw (kilowatts), built to help a local farm generate electricity to help with the farm’s running costs. The other three sites each have a capacity of 500kw from a single turbine.Of the 10 new sites, which are in various stages of planning, seven are in Wales, two in the Midlands and one in Devon.The company says it hopes to reach “financial close” on the projects by December and to carry out construction during 2014.

All of the projects are for the installation of 500kw turbines except for one, at Shawell in Leicestershire, which is for a 1.5MW (megawatt) turbine.

Infinite Energy manages the planning, installation and system management of the turbine projects on behalf of its landowner or commercial clients. Its first installation, at Rassau industrial estate, was for roof tile manufacturer Redland Monier.The turbine has been operating since February 2012 and can produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 307 homes, potentially saving up to 289 tonnes of CO 2 per year.

Following the success of the Rassau installation Infinite Energy was asked to complete two further installations for China Porcelain tile, including the one at Shawell.Albion Community Power is hoping to raise up to ￡24.4m in a share offer, and says it will consider raising a further ￡100m in funding if it believes further suitable renewable energy projects are available.It intends to invest in proven power generation methods across a range of renewable energy technologies, including solar, biomass heat, hydroelectricity and anaerobic digestion as well as wind.

With regard to wind, it says it plans to invest in turbines on brownfield sites near existing developments such as industrial estates rather than greenfield developments in remote areas.

This sits well with the Infinite Energy model, which is to site turbines by preference on industrial brownfield land, or on farms.Infinite Energy was established by directors Will David, a chartered surveyor, and Andrew Crossman, who has significant experience in energy use analysis and renewable energy. A third director, energy engineer Iestyn Morgan, joined the board later.

Following the installation at Rassau Nick Payne, factory manager at Monier Redland, said: “Monier Redland is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and has a medium-term plan to source 20% of its production energy from renewable sources. Our successful partnership with Infinite Renewables is a major step towards achieving this.”

Daniel Rees, Investment executive, Finance Wales said: "Infinite Energy has established itself as a leading Welsh renewable energy company and has a proven track record in the installation and management of wind turbine projects.  Finance Wales is pleased to back the business as a funding partner.’

Not many people know the shallow area off the public access at Riverside Park in New Ulm can be a hot spot for walleye fishing, Schwartz said. What he didn't know: The reason he wasn't constantly snagging his lure on old tires, rusty barrels and other junk had something to do with the thumping music coming from a stage above the grassy river bank.

Schwartz figured the Riverblast festival was just about old people getting together to listen to bands, eat some food and enjoy each other's company while sipping some locally brewed Schell's beer. Scott Sparlin, one of the event's organizers, would have told Schwartz Riverblast is about fun, but it also supports a cause that has improved the river, and helped its walleye flourish, during the past two decades.

The event started as the River Rally in 1992 and evolved into Riverblast in 2000. It's always used camping, music and refreshments to make people aware of the river and to raise a little money for the Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River.

The coalition's most significant accomplishment, Sparlin said, has been changing people's attitudes about the river. Instead of thinking of the river as a dump, which was the case for many years, people now see it as an asset that can draw tourists to its river towns.

"The river is why New Ulm is here," he said. "It's why Mankato is where it is. It's why St. Peter is where it is."We're changing the way people view the Minnesota River and getting people to want to change it. There's lots of work to do, but the good news is the river is getting better."

Phosphorus and sediment levels have dropped by 25 percent since the coalition's work started, Sparlin said. They're still working on Nitrogen levels. They are making progress with that, in part, by working with farmers to change the way they tile their fields.

Greg Asmus and his two sons, 10-year-old Anthony and 2-year-old Jonathan, wandered down by the river to toss some rocks and watch Schwartz and his buddies cast their lines. Asmus, who grew up in New Ulm, pointed to a big rock he used to sit on when he fished as a kid. He remembered snagging his line regularly.

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