SSE agrees to sell stake in Clyde Windfarm to Greencoat

SSE has agreed to sell a further stake in the Clyde Windfarm in Scotland to Greencoat UK Wind and GLIL Infrastructure LLP.

The company announced the initial sale of Clyde, equating to 49.9% of the existing 349.6 megawatt operation wind farm back in March last year. At the time, it said that when the commercial operation of the 172.8MW extension began, the equity stake in Clyde jointly owned by UKW and GLIL would be diluted to 30%, with SSE retaining 70%.

Under the new agreement, on dilution, UKW and GLIL will buy an additional 5% of Clyde, equating to 26.1MW, for a £67.8m in cash before costs, taking their share of the total Clyde development to 35%.

UKW and GLIL also have the option to buy a further 14.9% of Clyde for a cash consideration of £202.2m before costs. This option can be exercised between 1 April 2018 and 30 June 2018.

If it is exercised, SSE's share in Clyde would fall to 50.1%, with UKW and GLIL owning the remaining 49.9%.

SSE’s managing director of Wholesale, Martin Pibworth, said: "Both the original Clyde wind farm and the recent extension are complex projects, requiring major investment and a great deal of effort to deliver such efficient assets that make a huge contribution to supplying electricity and reducing carbon emissions across the GB market.

“The sale of a further stake in Clyde to UKW and GLIL is a natural step in our partnership with them and our commitment to recycle capital where we can see value for SSE. "

At 1040 BST, the shares were up 0.2% to 1,381p.