Ørsted sells 24.5% stake in UK offshore wind farm to Schroders Greencoat

Ørsted has sold a 24.5% stake in a UK offshore wind farm to funds managed by Schroders Greencoat, for around £456m (€536.4m) on a debt-free basis.

The Danish offshore wind power developer will retain a 25.5% stake in West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm and remain the operator of the project located off the UK west coast, which has a capacity of 389MW, it said.

The West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farm, located approximately 14km off the UK west coast, has been operating since 2014 with ScottishPower Renewables as a 50% joint venture partner.

Trond Westlie, group CFO of Ørsted, said: “Farm-downs and partnerships are an integral part of Ørsted’s business model, and we’re pleased to expand our partnership with Schroders Greencoat who has a proven track record in managing renewable energy infrastructure assets and is a highly valued partner to Ørsted.

“With today’s announcement, we continue to deliver on our farm-down programme with a transaction that meets our strategic objectives for partnerships and divestments in terms of value creation, risk diversification, and capital recycling.”

Minal Patel, global head of infrastructure, Schroders Capital, said: “We are incredibly pleased to strengthen our position through this long-term partnership with Ørsted. West of Duddon Sands represents an excellent asset with strong, inflation-protected cash flows, which should perform robustly in what is currently a volatile market.”

“As we navigate the energy transition, we recognise that this sector will continue to evolve. By investing in established assets like West of Duddon Sands, we position ourselves to achieve secure returns while contributing to the decarbonisation of power generation and supporting sustainable infrastructure development.”

Ørsted is in the midst of a major review, after stating in February that it had trimmed its investment and capacity targets and paused dividend payouts as part of a plan to strengthen its balance sheet.

Westlie said in today’s statement that this latest divestment met the company’s strategic objectives “in terms of value creation, risk diversification, and capital recycling”.

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