Eni moves Dogger Bank stake to offshore wind JV with HitecVision

Italian oil and gas company Eni SpA (BIT:ENI), through its decarbonisation business Plenitude, and Norwegian energy-focused private equity firm HitecVision AS today unveiled plans to build their joint venture Vargronn into a substantial offshore wind player.

Under an agreement for expanding the joint venture, Vargronn will acquire Plenitude’s 20% stake in the 3.6-GW Dogger Bank offshore wind project in the UK, which will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm when completed in 2026. Dogger Bank’s other owners are Equinor and SSE.

Vargronn will also acquire Plenitude’s other early-stage initiatives in its focus markets in Northern Europe.

At the same time, HitecVision’s stake in Vargronn will increase to 35% from 30.4%, while Plenitude will keep the remaining 65%.

Eni and HitecVision created Vargronn as a Norwegian renewable energy business in 2020, following on from their partnership in Var Energi, which has become a large player on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Vargronn will be participating in the upcoming license rounds for the Utsira Nord and Sorlige Nordsjo II offshore wind areas in Norway with different partners.

“By expanding Vargronn, we aim to raise a focused and financially independent development platform with a diversified portfolio of assets in the Northern Europe and with the capacity to rapidly build scale in the offshore wind market that is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years,” said Plenitude chief executive Stefano Goberti. According to Goberti, the move strengthens Plenitude's offshore wind presence in line with its target of reaching 15 GW of renewable capacity by 2030.

Just recently, Eni postponed the initial public offering (IPO) of Eni Plenitude SpA due to deteriorated market conditions.

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