Irish renewable energy investment firm Greencoat Renewables has agreed to acquire a 22.5% stake in the operating 288MW Butendiek offshore wind farm in Germany held by Marguerite Pantheon, an investment vehicle managed by Marguerite.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by the parties.
Located in the North Sea, 32km west of the island of Sylt, the German offshore wind farm has been operating since 2015.
It has 80 wind turbines from Siemens Gamesa, each having a 3.6MW capacity. The offshore wind project provides enough clean energy to meet the annual electricity consumption of nearly 370,000 homes.
Marguerite invested in the Butendiek offshore wind farm in 2013.
Marguerite managing partner and Butendiek board chairman Michael Dedieu said: “Marguerite, a pioneer in offshore wind investment, has been instrumental since the late development phase of the Butendiek in 2012 in putting together a strong group of investors to successfully implement the project and get it through the construction phase and the first seven years of operation.
“This project provides significant benefits towards German/EU goals of CO2 emissions reduction and security of electricity supply.
“This transaction successfully demonstrates our strategy of working alongside experienced partners and actively managing high-quality and sustainable infrastructure assets to deliver attractive returns to our investors.”
The Butendiek offshore wind farm is supported by fixed-price feed-in tariffs (FiT) until December 2023 and is later expected to benefit from a floor price for the electricity sold until December 2035.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is anticipated to complete in Q1 2023.
Greencoat Renewables investment manager Bertrand Gautier said: “We are pleased to make this acquisition which consolidates Greencoat Renewables’ market position in the German offshore wind sector.
“This acquisition will also contribute to the diversification of Greencoat Renewables’ European portfolio whilst bringing further strong contracted cash flows.
“The acquisition of Butendiek demonstrates Greencoat Renewables’ commitment to the European offshore wind sector, which plays an increasing role in providing cost-competitive, decarbonated and reliable electricity.”
Additionally, Greencoat Renewables has announced the completion of the acquisition of the 45MW Kokkoneva wind farm in Finland and the 25MW Taghart wind farm in Ireland.
Both wind facilities were acquired under a forward sale commitment, stated Greencoat Renewables.
The Irish firm announced the acquisition of the Kokkoneva wind farm for around €60m in February 2021.
