Jim Arigho is a Director in the Energy, Climate Action & Infrastructure Team in Allied Irish Banks. Jim has been with AIB for over 13 years working in both Project Finance and Acquisition Finance. Jim has been involved in numerous Debt Financings including Onshore & Offshore Wind, Solar, Biomass, Anaerobic Digestion and Waste to Energy. Jim holds an MBA from the Smurfit Business School and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin.
For several years, the Irish market was one of the most hotly anticipated solar markets and we have now seen movement in 2021. In November of 2021, Solar Power Portal reported that 85 projects - representing 2,897MW - were due to receive connection offers under Category A of ECP 2.2, of which, 61 were solar PV projects with a collective capacity of 1,533MW and 6 hybrid solar-plus-storage sites consisting of 325MW of solar and 441MW of battery storage. What does 2022 hold for the sector and how can investors get involved?