Allied Irish Banks is expected to administer a €200 million fund to finance wind farms in Ireland. The money will come jointly from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and AIB.

The joint venture will offer the financing for up to 15 years at competitive rates, the Irish Times cited Bernard Byrne, AIB's head of personal, business and corporate banking, as saying few days ago.

The money will be available to fund projects of up to 75 megawatts in size or up to €75 million in financing.

Those interested in drawing down the funds must provide between 10 % and 20 % of the capital involved.

Bernard Byrne also said that AIB intended to invest €1 billion in renewable energy and energy conservation projects by 2017.

The Irish Wind Energy Association (IWEA) said that the onshore wind energy sector in Ireland could attract €4.7 billion in investment by 2020. The organization stated that 119 new projects of 2,746 MW in total have sealed contracts for grid connection.