Greencoat UK Wind to buy 12.5% in 1.2-GW Hornsea One

Greencoat UK Wind Plc (LON:UKW) today said it has agreed to buy a net 12.5% stake in the 1.2-GW Hornsea One wind farm in UK waters in a deal valued at GBP 400 million (USD 489.6m/EUR 470.8m).

The renewable energy fund managed by Greencoat Capital LLP will purchase the interest from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), which owns Hornsea One through a 50/50 joint venture (JV) with Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED). The acquisition is due to be finalised in the third quarter.

According to Greencoat’s estimates, the stake it is set to acquire has an enterprise value of GBP 1.1 billion.

The Hornsea One complex is located 120 km (75 miles) off the coast of Yorkshire, England. It is powered by 174 Siemens Gamesa turbines that became fully operational in December 2019, forming the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The plant is operated by Ørsted and has in place an inflation-linked Contract-for-Difference (CfD) that expires in 13 years.

Greencoat intends to fund the purchase from cash flow reserves and its revolving credit facility. Following the acquisition, the total operating capacity in the company’s portfolio will increase to more than 1.6 GW.

"Hornsea 1 has a high load factor and high CFD price which complements our subsidy free investments,” said Shonaid Jemmett-Page, chairman of Greencoat UK Wind.

In March, GIP agreed to offload a 7.8% stake in Hornsea One to The Renewables Infrastructure Group Ltd (LON:TRIG). The transaction is expected to be completed towards the end of the first half of 2022.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.224/EUR 1.175)

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