By Ulrike Dauer
Canadian energy firm Northland Power Inc. (NPI.T) will buy an
85% stake in three offshore wind farms in the North Sea from
utility RWE AG (RWE.XE)'s renewables energy arm RWE Innogy, the two
companies said.
The acquisition consists of the 332-megawatt offshore wind farm
Nordsee One, which is expected to start operation in 2017, and two
other wind farms --Nordsee Two and Nordsee Three--that are in the
early stages of development. Financial details of the transaction
weren't disclosed. Project costs for Nordsee One alone are
estimated around 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion).
The three wind farms are located 40 kilometers north of
Germany's Juist island, in a 100-square-kilometer area with shallow
water and high wind speeds.
The cooperation between Northland, an independent power
producer, and RWE, a large diversified utility, is a new approach
to ensuring the effective completion of the Nordsee One project,
both companies said.
Financing for the Nordsee One project is expected to be
finalized in the first half of 2015, with in-water construction
scheduled to begin the following year. Once operational, Nordsee
One is expected to generate more than 1,300 gigawatt hours of
electricity a year from 54 wind turbines, and will meet the needs
of 400,000 German households.
Nordsee Two and Nordsee Three will be developed over the next
decade as market conditions evolve and the grid infrastructure
becomes available. The two farms combined will provide 670
megawatts of renewable energy.
Offshore wind energy is an important part of Germany's move to
renewable power generation following its decision in 2011 to exit
nuclear energy by 2022, which it took after the Fukushima nuclear
accident in Japan.
Write to Ulrike Dauer at Ulrike.Dauer@wsj.com
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