East Anglia One offshore wind project : GIG buys stake from Iberdrola for £1.6bn

Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) has signed a £1.63 billion deal to acquire 40% stake in the 714MW East Anglia One offshore wind project in the UK from Spanish energy company Iberdrola, as per the latest energy acquisition news.

Iberdrola will hold on to the remaining 60% stake in the East Anglia One offshore wind farm in the North Sea, located around 43km from the coast of Suffolk. The stake of the Spanish energy company in the British offshore wind farm is held through its subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables.

East Anglia One offshore wind project commissioning schedule

Work in progress at the East Anglia One offshore wind project in the British North Sea. Photo courtesy of Iberdrola, S.A.

Valued at £4.1 billion, the offshore UK wind farm is expected to begin operations in 2020 having broken ground a couple of years ago. The East Anglia One project will comprise 102 wind turbines to be delivered by Siemens Gamesa, with each of them having a capacity of 7MW.

The East Anglia One offshore wind farm will be capable of meeting the power consumption needs of more than 600,000 households annually.

Scotland-based Green Investment Group, which is an offshore wind projects sponsor, said that the transaction will further its commitment to speed up the energy transition in the UK. With the stake in the East Anglia One offshore wind project, the total offshore wind capacity of offshore wind supported by the Macquarie in the UK crosses 5.7GW through 14 projects.

Commenting on the investment in the East Anglia One offshore wind project, Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, said: “East Anglia ONE is a world class development delivering a huge range of benefits to communities across the UK, and I’m delighted that GIG is partnering with ScottishPower Renewables and the Iberdrola group on the project.

“The UK continues to be a world leader in offshore wind, and I’m incredibly proud of the pioneering role GIG has played in the creation of that market. The need to accelerate our transition to a greener economy has never been greater.”

The closing of the deal is subject to the standard authorization from the Crown Estate.

Iberdrola plans to allocate the funds from the sale of the stake in East Anglia One offshore wind project to implement its organic growth plans as outlined in its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, as per the latest energy acquisition news.