Specialist wind infrastructure fund Greencoat UK Wind is to acquire a net 12.5% stake in the Hornsea 1 offshore wind farm. It will pay £400 million for the stake acquired from Global Infrastructure Partners. The acquisition is expected to complete in Q3 2022.
The 1.2GW Hornsea 1 wind farm is 80 miles off the Yorkshire coast. Its 174 Siemens 7MW turbines is make it the world’s largest offshore wind farm and the first offshore to exceed 1GW. It entered into full commercial operation in December 2019 and benefits from a 15 year CFD at a price of £175.25/MWh (real 2022).
Hornsea 1 is currently 50% owned by Orsted. GIP owned 50%, part-funded by £2.9 billion of limited recourse debt. UKW’s pro rata share of this limited recourse debt is £0.7 billion, giving a total enterprise value of £1.1 billion for UKW’s net 12.5% stake. Orsted will continue to provide operation, maintenance and management services to the wind farm.
The acquisition is expected to be funded from cash flow and, to the extent required, the Company’s revolving credit facility.
Shonaid Jemmett-Page, Greencoat chair, said:
“Hornsea 1 has a high load factor and high CFD price which complements our subsidy free investments. This transaction, once completed, will add another high quality operating asset to our portfolio and increase our net generating capacity to over 1.6GW.
“We continue to see an attractive pipeline of projects, both onshore and offshore, and given the size and scale that the Company has attained over recent years, we remain strongly positioned to deliver more value-accretive acquisitions and extend our track record of strong shareholder returns.”