Commercial guidance on proposed 130MW wind farm, Scotland

Location

Project summary

• A new wind farm development to comprise of 15-20 turbines on a Scottish Estate.
• The scheme could generate power for over 77,000 homes per year.
• Fisher German tendered the site and agreed Heads of Terms for an option to lease land to a European wind farm developer. Our client and their accountants required an assessment of wind farm rental income and anticipated forestry losses for tax planning purposes
• Fisher German's advisory services were used to ensure steps could be taken to mitigate tax liabilities as a result of a wind farm being developed.

Solution

• We engaged with the client's accountants to understand their needs to deliver requirements of the mutual client.
• We consulted with the developer to gauge expectations over how the scale and layout of the wind farm could change through design, survey and planning.
• We prepared detailed financial projections for the wind farm and Estate income analyses.
• Utilising information from the developer we estimated future forestry losses likely as a result of the wind farm development.
• The exercise is to be periodically reviewed in conjunction with the accountants to ensure our client’s tax position is appropriately managed and mitigated.

Benefits

• Proactive and prudent tax planning.
• A better understanding of the wind farm development process and medium to long term financial implications for our client.
• Quantification of expected losses from current forestry operations on the Estate.