Ørsted to sell half of world’s largest offshore wind farm for over £4bn

Ørsted has signed an agreement to sell 50% of the 1,218MW offshore wind farm Hornsea 1 to Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) for approximately £4.46bn.

Hornsea 1 is under construction and will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm when commissioned in 2020.

As part of the agreement, Ørsted will construct the wind farm under a full-scope EPC contract. Ørsted will also provide long-term operations and maintenance services from its O&M base in Grimsby and provide a route to market for the power generated by Hornsea 1.

The total sales price for Hornsea 1 comprises the price for the acquisition of a 50% ownership share and the commitment to fund 50% of the payments under the EPC contract for the entire wind farm. The amount is expected to be paid between 2018 and 2020.

The financing, which has been structured and led by Ørstedand co-arranged with GIP, will be the largest single-project financing to date in the global renewable energy sector.

Ole Kjems Sørensen, Executive Vice President for M&A, Partnerships and Asset Management at Ørsted, says: “This is our third partnership with GIP, and we are delighted to have one of the world’s largest infrastructure funds as a partner, in what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The Hornsea 1 farm down is a landmark transaction which will create substantial value for our shareholders and reduce single asset exposure.”

GIP also holds 50% ownership shares of two of Ørsted’s German offshore wind farms, Gode Wind 1 and Borkum Riffgrund 2.

Source: Energyzine