Energy sector experts from the Corporate and M&A team at independent UK law firm Burges Salmon have advised Ripple Energy on its acquisition of a site for a 14-turbine wind farm, which is being built in the Scottish Borders, from developers BayWa r.e.
The site for the wind farm, which will be located at Whitelaw Brae near Tweedsmuir, is set to be owned by members of the public in what is anticipated to become Britain’s biggest people-owned renewable energy project. It will see thousands of people across the country joining together to co-own the wind farm via a co-operative, powering their homes with up to 100% green energy, reducing their electricity bills, and cutting their carbon footprint.
The site, which has been developed by BayWa r.e. with the turbines being manufactured by Vestas, will have the potential to power more than 50,000 homes and generate around 145GWh per year. At full power, it will take just three minutes to provide enough electricity for an average household for an entire year.
The Burges Salmon team advising on the transaction was led by partner Camilla Usher-Clark, senior associate Briony Barber and trainee solicitor Jenora Vaswani from the firm’s Corporate and M&A team. The firm initially advised Ripple Energy in 2020 on its ground-breaking launch of the first wind farm for consumer ownership.
Camilla Usher-Clark comments: “Ripple Energy continues to pave the way to make it as easy as possible for both members of the public and businesses to access wind energy. This latest project is Ripple’s biggest to date and it will see the production of the largest people-owned renewable energy site in the UK – we are proud to have played our part in such an important deal that will further contribute to the UK’s energy security and Net Zero commitments.”
Sarah Merrick, Founder and CEO of Ripple Energy adds: “Burges Salmon were with us from the very start of the Ripple journey and we are thrilled that they have been able to work side-by-side with us again during this exciting project, and grateful for their excellent legal advice.”
Burges Salmon has over 20 years of experience in the renewable energy sector and is regularly engaged in first-of-a-kind work across onshore and offshore wind, solar, BESS, biomass, hydrogen and geothermal projects. With a specialism in energytech, the firm has set itself apart from its competitors and is widely regarded as one of the sector’s leading law firms.