Irish onshore wind, solar and energy storage company Aer Soléir has secured £190 million ($250 million) of equity funding from 547 Energy International.
The Dublin-headquartered company will use the funding to develop, construct, own and operate renewable energy projects across Europe.
It was founded by Andy Kinsella and Manus O’Donnell, who are chief executive officer and chief financial officer of Aer Soléir respectively. Kinsella has worked in the energy sector for 35 years, including holding leadership roles at Ireland’s Electricity Supply Board (ESB), ESB International, GE, Siemens and most recently Mainstream Renewable Power.
O’Donnell most recently worked at asset investor and manager NTR plc, and has also held leadership positions at Mainstream Renewable Power and Airtricity.
“The timing could not be better to launch Aer Soléir, a European-focused renewable energy platform,” said O’Donnell.
“We are pleased to have the expertise and the capital that 547 Energy provides, and we look forward to growing our partnerships with emerging developers across Europe.”
Both Kinsella and O’Donnell will serve on Aer Soléir’s board of directors. They have put together a team of 20 employees, who are now actively sourcing development-stage projects across Europe.
547 Energy is Quantum Energy Partners’s global clean energy investment platform, which was founded and is led by Gabriel Alonso. Quantum was established in 1998, and has since provided more than £14 billion ($18 billion) in equity commitments to the responsibly sourced energy and energy transition sectors.
“The demand for renewable energy projects to accomplish Europe’s energy transition is staggering” said Sean O’Donnell, partner and head of energy transition at Quantum.
“We are pleased to back Andy, Manus and the Aer Soléir team as they work to identify, invest in and guide major renewable energy assets to operation.”