Saudi Arabia's PIF buys into German offshore wind developer Skyborn

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia has bought a stake of up to 9.5% in German offshore wind developer and operator Skyborn Renewables.

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund said on Monday that the investment is aligned with its goal to achieve sustainable returns, while it will also enable it to become part of the global acceleration of the energy transition.

The value of the investment was kept under wraps.

Skyborn is the former offshore wind business of German renewables developer Wpd AG which was acquired by US private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) earlier this year. The Bremen-based business has so far developed more than 7 GW of offshore wind projects and currently has interests in operating and under-construction projects in Germany, France and Taiwan. The platform, which operates in over 15 European and APAC markets, also owns a pipeline of offshore wind projects in various stages of development exceeding 30 GW in capacity.

In October, Abu Dhabi's investment fund Mubadala Investment Company bought a stake in Skyborn. Details about the investment were not disclosed.

“This investment opportunity enhances our objectives to increase our portfolio of investments in the low carbon sector, which now includes solar, power generation, electric vehicles and offshore wind energy,” said Turqi Alnowaiser, deputy governor and head of the international investments division at PIF.

PIF has committed to developing 70% of Saudi Arabia’s renewable energy by 2030. The company is a major shareholder in Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and is taking part in the 1,500-MW Sudair and 2,060-MW Al Shuaibah solar projects in the Kingdom.

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