£1bn North Sea wind farm changes hands

SIMULTANEOUS deals has seen the Green Investment Bank take majority ownership of a £1bn wind farm off the North Sea coast.

Centrica has sold its 50% ownership and Siemens Project Ventures has sold its 25% stake in Lincs Wind Farm, which is five miles off the coast at Skegness. The deal is expected to complete next month.

The deal has netted Centrica £220m, after debt and costs, and results in it exiting from the ownership of wind power generation assets. The stock market-listed group said it will continue to support wind power by “entering into agreements to purchase renewable power”.

The Green Investment Bank Offshore Wind Fund has paid £429m for its 44% stake and its Government-owned parent, the UK Green Investment Bank, invested £302m.

DONG Energy, which bought a 25% stake alongside Siemens in December 2009, is retaining its stake.

The 270 MW Lincs wind farm has 75 turbines and has been operational since 2013. Centrica will provide operations and maintenance support for another 12 months before DONG Energy takes over.

The Fund lays claims to be the first in the world to be dedicated solely to investments in offshore wind power generation and the latest deal takes its assets under management to £1.12bn.

Investors in the Fund include five UK local authority pension funds, which collectively manage the pensions of 700,000 people. Other large investors in the Fund are Swedish life insurance and pension company AMF and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund.

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