Greencoat UK Wind plc is to acquire a 25% stake in Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm from AIP. Greencoat is in partnership with a number of pension funds investing through Greencoat Renewable Income LP, a fund also managed by Greencoat Capital. UKW will acquire a net 15.7% stake in the wind farm for a total cash consideration of £250 million.
The 285MW Burbo Bank Extension, four miles north of the Wirral was commissioned in July 2017, it has a load factor of 43.8% and it has a CFD priced at £176.57/MWh (real 2021) until 31 March 2032.
Greencoat UK Wind has also announced plans for an equity placing to fund the acquisition and its attractive pipeline of investment opportunities, including near-term committed investments in Windy Rig, Twentyshilling and Glen Kyllachy. It will issue shares at 132p per share, a discount of 6.5% to the closing share price on 1 November 2021 of 141.20p.
Shonaid Jemmett-Page, chair of UKW, said: ” This transaction, once completed, will add another high quality asset to our portfolio which will stand at 41 wind farm investments, with a generating capacity of over 1.3GW. This will be our second CFD investment, complementing the investments we are making into merchant assets, and will sit alongside our 38 ROC investments as part of a balanced portfolio.
“Anticipating our commitments over the next 18 months, the equity raise launched today will enable the Company to pay down debt and continue to capitalise on the strong pipeline of opportunities in the UK wind farm market, both onshore and offshore.”