Greencoat Renewables buys 50pc share in German wind farm

Greencoat Renewables announced an agreement to acquire 50% of the Borkum Riffgrund 1 offshore wind farm in Germany on Monday, from Kirkbi and William Demant Invest, for €350m (£294.06m).

The AIM-traded firm said the wind farm was developed and constructed by Ørsted, which would remain a 50% shareholder.

It said Borkumm Riffgrund 1 is located in Germany's exclusive economic zone in the North Sea, and consists of 78 SGRE 4.0MW turbines that had been operational since 2015.

Ørsted would continue to provide operation, maintenance and management services to the wind farm under a long-term contract.

The company said the wind farm benefited from a fixed-price contract-for-difference until September 2024.

After that, the project would enjoy a government-backed floor price for the electricity sold until May 2035, providing exposure to power price upside as well as the emerging European corporate power purchase agreement market.

The transaction remained subject to regulatory clearance, and was expected to close in the second quarter.

“We are very pleased to enter the continental offshore wind market with a significant strategic stake in Borkum Riffgrund 1,” said investment manager Bertrand Gautier.

“This acquisition will contribute to Greencoat Renewables' strategy to build a diversified portfolio of high-quality renewable electricity generation assets supported by strong contracted cash-flows, and will support the company's further expansion into continental Europe.”

Gautier said the acquisition would “further strengthen” Greencoat’s partnership with Ørsted, and positions it for future acquisitions in the European offshore sector.

“We believe that offshore wind is key in allowing governments to reach their decarbonisation objectives and we see a 63GW investment opportunity across our selected jurisdictions by 2030.”

At 1016 BST, shares in Greencoat Renewables were down 0.15% at 1.15p.