Dong to sell 50% of offshore wind farm in £1.6bn deal

Clean energy firm Dong Energy is to sell 50 per cent of Race Bank, its giant wind farm project off the North Norfolk coast, in a deal valued at £1.6 billion.

It will be bought up by Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 and Macquarie Capital, the main investment arm of Macquarie Group.

Race Bank, set to be fully operational in 2018, is a 573-megawatt UK offshore wind farm about 16 miles off Blakeney Point. Being built out of Grimsby Dock, the farm will consist of 91 Siemens turbines and will produce enough electricity to power more than 400,000 homes each year.

The transaction, consisting of the 50 per cent stake and commitment to fund 50 per cent of the project’s capital expenditure including transmission assets, amounts to around £1.6 billion. Proceeds are payable from now until the completion of the project.

“I welcome Macquarie as partner on Race Bank. They have successfully invested in infrastructure projects worldwide and have experience in offshore wind from previous investments,” said Samuel Leupold, executive vice president and chief executive officer of wind power at Dong Energy.

“We have seen a high level of interest from a number of potential investors in Race Bank. This proves that our partnership model continues to be attractive.”

Mark Dooley, head of energy and infrastructure at Macquarie Capital Europe, said: “We are delighted to partner with Dong Energy on the Race Bank offshore wind farm. Dong Energy is an industry leader and pioneer in offshore wind power development globally.”

As part of the deal Dong and Macquarie have agreed a framework for sharing construction risk.

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