2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Slew of Irish windfarms put up for sale by Denmark's Orsted
The entire 800MW platform, which also includes windfarms in the UK, Germany and Spain, could fetch as much as €2bn.
Orsted's European onshore headquarters are based in Cork city, where it employs about 100 people. The group has invested €800m in Ireland across a portfolio of wind and solar projects.
Of the 27 operational onshore windfarms that are up for sale by Orsted, 21 are in Ireland. They include windfarms across the country, stretching from Donegal to Kerry. The company is currently building a 50MW windfarm in Co Tipperary and has six projects in development.
The planned sale of Orsted's onshore wind assets was first reported by industry publication PeakLoad. Orsted declined to comment.
PeakLoad noted that BNP Paribas is advising on the proposed sale of the assets, dubbed Project Grace. Non-binding offers are slated to be submitted next month.
The entire portfolio includes more than 600MW of power from windfarms, with up to 371MW being generated by the operational Irish units. The sale will also include windfarm sites under development.
The Danish energy company also has a windfarm in Co Antrim that produces electricity for Amazon under a power-purchase agreement.
In Ireland, Orsted also has a 50-50 joint venture with semi-state forestry company Coillte. The Coom Green Energy Park in Co Cork has an installed capacity of 105MW and is expected to be in commercial operation next year.
Last December, Orsted and FuturEnergy Ireland – a joint venture between the ESB and Coillte, secured planning permission for the Ballinagree Wind Farm, which will be located between Millstreet and Macroom in Co Cork. With 16 turbines, it is expected to generate up to 112MW of electricity when it becomes operational around 2030.
Last summer, Orsted started construction on its first Irish solar farm, an 81MW facility outside Carlow town. Last month it started construction on its second, a 55MW project in Co Cork. The company has a pipeline of 700MW of solar-farm projects in Ireland.
Orsted has also partnered with the ESB to jointly develop offshore wind energy projects.
Ireland is aiming to generate 80pc of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030.
Headquartered in Denmark, Orsted employs more than 8,000 people. The company is listed on the Nasdaq in New York, with a market capitalisation of $115bn (€100bn).
Last year, Norway's Equinor bought an almost 10pc stake in Orsted, in what was a major move for the two companies.
It made Equinor the second-largest shareholder in Orsted after the Danish state, which has a controlling interest in the firm. 'Equinor has a long-term perspective and will be a supportive owner in Orsted,' Equinor chief executive Anders Opedal said at the time.
'This is a counter-cyclical investment in a leading developer, and a premium portfolio of operating offshore wind assets,' he added.
'The exposure to producing assets complements Equinor's operated offshore wind portfolio of large projects under development.'
