Eni has entered the UK offshore wind market through the acquisition of a 20% stake in the Dogger Bank A and B projects.
Equinor has entered into an agreement with Eni to sell a 10% equity interest in its Dogger Bank Wind Farm A and B assets for a total consideration of £202.5M. Eni has also entered into an agreement to purchase a 10% interest in Dogger Bank A and B from Equinor’s project partner SSE on the same terms.
Once the transactions are complete, the new overall shareholding in Dogger Bank A (1.2 GW) and Dogger Bank B (1.2 GW) will be – SSE 40%, Equinor 40% and Eni 20%.
Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said, “For Eni, entering the offshore wind market in northern Europe is a great opportunity to gain skills in the sector in collaboration with two of the industry’s leading companies.”
Equinor executive vice president new energy solutions Pål Eitrheim said, “This is our third offshore wind transaction in less than two years. Once again, we have demonstrated Equinor’s ability to create value from renewables projects.
“The divestment is in line with our strategy. We access attractive acreage early and at scale, then leverage our technology and experience to mature and de-risk projects.”
SSE finance director Gregor Alexander said, “The sale of a stake in Dogger Bank to Eni is another successful example of SSE’s approach to partnering to create and secure value for shareholders. This transaction will enable us to fund further low carbon growth opportunities, helping to deliver governments’ net zero ambitions and our own target to treble our renewable output by 2030.”
Equinor and SSE Renewables secured 3.6 GW of offshore wind contracts for Dogger Bank’s three phases, Dogger Bank A, Dogger Bank B and Dogger Bank C in the UK Government’s 2019 Contract for Difference auctions.
The first two phases of Dogger Bank reached recently financial close at competitive terms, underlining the attractiveness of the UK offshore wind assets and the confidence in the joint venture.
Dogger Bank C is being developed on a different timescale with financial close to follow at a later stage. There is no change to the ownership of the third phase, Dogger Bank C (1.2 GW), in which Equinor and SSE each have a 50% stake.
SSE Renewables are leading the construction of the 3.6 GW project, and Equinor will lead on the wind farm’s operations.
The transaction is expected to close in early 2021, subject to regulatory and lenders approvals and customary purchase price adjustments.
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