UK - Bank to buy 15pc stake in wind firm

Plans for a €200m fundraising by Airtricity founder Eddie O'Connor have been given a boost by reports that Barclays Capital is negotiating to buy a 15pc stake in the venture.

Mr O'Connor plans to invest €30m of his own money in Mainstream Renewable Power, which he hopes will become a major operator in the burgeoning wind power industry.

This is most of the money Mr O'Connor made from the €1.8bn sale of Airtricity to Scottish and Southern Energy -- a sale he is believed to have opposed.

The planned €20m investment from Barcap would value Mainstream at more than €130m. A similar amount will be raised from private individuals.

Mainstream, launched six months ago, has already signed a deal in Chile to provide up to 240 megawatts of wind energy from mountain windfarms and has invested in Danish wind turbine designer 2-B.

Mainstream will use funds from its equity sale to fund the initial capital outlay needed to buy turbines for its projects.