Dogger Bank offshore wind project : Eni to acquire 20% stake in phases A and B for £405m

Italian oil and gas giant Eni is foraying into the UK offshore wind market by acquiring a 20% stake in the 2.4GW Dogger Bank offshore wind project A and B assets from Equinor and SSE Renewables for £405 million.

Brief details of Dogger Bank offshore wind project

The Dogger Bank wind project is being built, 130 km off the English north-east coast. It is being built I three phases – A, B, and C, with each of them to have a capacity of 1.2GW.

Construction of the Dogger Bank phase A and B is estimated to cost £6 billion. While Phase A is slated to be completed by 2023, Phase B is targeted to be completed the following year.

The Dogger Bank offshore wind project A and B assets will have 190 turbines of 13MW capacity.

At its full capacity of 3.6GW, the Dogger Bank wind farm is expected to meet nearly 5% of the demand for renewable electricity in the UK, by supplying energy to nearly six million British households.

Claudio Descalzi – CEO of Eni said: “For Eni, entering the offshore wind market in Northern Europe is a great opportunity to gain further skills in the sector thanks to the collaboration with two of the industry’s leading companies, and to make a substantial contribution to the 2025 target of 5 GW of installed capacity from renewables, an intermediate step towards the more ambitious target of zero net direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 2050.”

Eni to acquire 20% stake in phases A and B of the Dogger Bank offshore wind project. Photo courtesy of Equinor ASA.

Phase A and phase B of the Dogger Bank offshore wind project recently reached a financial close.

The phase C of the Dogger Bank wind project is being developed on a different timescale with financial close expected to be achieved at a later stage. The deal with Eni does not impact the current ownership in Dogger Bank C, in which Equinor and SSE hold a stake of 50% each.

SSE Renewables is leading the construction of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind project, while Equinor will lead its operations.

Pål Eitrheim – executive vice president of Equinor New Energy Solutions said: “This is our third offshore wind transaction in less than two years. Once again, we have demonstrated Equinor’s ability to create value from renewables projects.

“The divestment is in line with our strategy. We access attractive acreage early and at scale, then leverage our technology and experience to mature and de-risk projects. Today’s deal underpins our track record in consistently capturing value from world class assets.”

The deal, which is subject to approvals from regulatory and lenders and customary purchase price adjustments, is expected to close early next year.