Cavan-based entrepreneur Mr Seán Quinn has invested about €40 million in wind energy company Airtricity, giving him a 16 per cent stake.

Airtricity said his investment was part of an €80 million private placement, which valued the company at €250 million. Existing shareholder National Toll Roads (NTR) also contributed €40 million to the fundraising and consequently has maintained its 51 per cent stake.

Mr Quinn's firm, the Quinn Group, will be seeking board representation on the back of its investment.

Airtricity has not ruled out a flotation in the next two years. The company was set up in 1997 and is developing wind farms in Ireland, Britain and the US.

Some 275 megawatts are already in operation and the company has 4,000 megawatts on the way. The company is also developing a wind farm off the Wicklow coast with GE Wind.

The three main shareholders are now: Mr Quinn, NTR, and Future Wind Partnership, a group of private investors and staff, among them Airtricity chief executive Mr Eddie O'Connor. NCB Stockbrokers has in recent months been bringing private clients in as shareholders.

Airtricity said the funds would be used to continue building various wind farms in Ireland and the UK and explore new opportunities in Europe and the US.

The Quinn Group has interests in cement, glass, manufacturing, hotels, general insurance and property. Mr Seán Quinn said he was "very optimistic" about the long-term future of the renewable energy industry.

He described Airtricity as "one of the leading players in Europe". Airtricity already owns two wind farms of its own, in Snugborough and Slieve Rushen in Co Cavan.

Mr O'Connor said the company was now valued at more than €250 million, a 29 per cent increase in share value from the last private placement completed by the company in June 2003.

Airtricity's last set of accounts, for the year ended December 2002, showed a pre-tax profit of €187,054, with turnover up to €50 million from €27.2 million.

The wind sector was dealt a blow recently when energy regulator Mr Tom Reeves stopped new connections to the national grid. Since then many of the issues ESB National Grid was concerned about have been resolved and new connections are expected to be issued once again very shortly.

Meanwhile, the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has auctioned off 218 megawatts of power to various independent providers, among them Viridian and Bord Gáis.