By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland
OSLO--The U.K. Green Investment Bank said Thursday it would buy
20% of the 317-megawatt Sheringham Shoal wind park offshore U.K.
from Norway's Statoil ASA (STO) and Statkraft for 240 million
pounds ($379 million), to enable the developers to spend the cash
on new projects.
The government-owned U.K. Green Investment Bank was set up in
2012 to boost the U.K.'s transition to a greener energy
infrastructure.
The investment "allows two strategically important investors,
Statkraft and Statoil, to take part of their investment in an
operating project and reinvest it in other projects," said Shaun
Kingsbury, chief executive of the Green Investment Bank. "We
intend, in time, to transfer the asset to our proposed Operating
Offshore Wind Fund, which is intended to attract new investors and
new capital to the U.K."
The Sheringham Shoal wind power plant about 20 kilometers off
the Norfolk coast has been producing for two years, with an annual
output of about 1.1 terawatt hours. Statoil and Statkraft have
plans to develop more offshore wind projects off the U.K.,
including the 402-megawatt Dudgeon project off Norfolk, set to
produce from 2017.
"This agreement is great news for Statoil and Statkraft, as it
enables us to realize value created through the development and
construction phase of the Sheringham Shoal wind farm," said Siri
Espedal Kindem, Statoil's senior vice president for renewable
energy. "It also demonstrates that investments in the U.K.
renewable business are attractive."
The U.K. aims to become a world leader in offshore wind,
supported by the Green Investment Bank which has invested more than
$1 billion in offshore wind projects, including a recent
acquisition of a 25% stake in the Westernmost Rough wind project
from DONG Energy.
Statoil and Statkraft will retain 40% each in the Sheringham
Shoal wind park.
Write to Kjetil Malkenes Hovland at
kjetilmalkenes.hovland@wsj.com
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