Upon closing, which is expected after two months, Iberdrola will maintain a 51% stake, continue to control and manage the offshore wind farm, and lead the operations and maintenance (O&M) services

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Wikinger has an installed capacity of 350MW. (Credit: Iberdrola, S.A.)

Spanish electric utility Iberdrola has signed an agreement with Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) to divest a 49% stake in its Wikinger offshore wind farm in Germany.

EIP is a Switzerland-based investment company specialising in energy infrastructure, with a focus on high-quality, large-scale renewables and system-critical assets.

The transaction values the Wikinger wind farm at a total of around €1.42bn.

Under the terms of the agreement, EIP will acquire 49% of Wikinger for around €700m.

Upon closing, which is expected after two months, Iberdrola will maintain a 51% stake.

The company will continue to control and manage the offshore wind farm and lead the operations and maintenance (O&M) services.

Wikinger wind farm is located in the German waters of the Baltic Sea, about 34km northeast of the island of Ruegen, near the maritime borders of Denmark, Sweden, and Poland.

It is the first offshore wind farm Iberdrola has developed on its own and features 70 of Siemens Gamesa’s M5000/135 turbines.

Wikinger has an installed capacity of 350MW and was commissioned in 2018.

Iberdrola said that the transaction would further advance its asset rotation plan to finance new renewable projects under development.

Iberdrola, in its statement, said: “Iberdrola reaffirms its commitment to offshore wind, with almost 1,300MW of offshore capacity in operation by the end of June 2022.

“In addition, it has 3,000MW under construction, another 4,000MW secured and an extensive project pipeline under development.

“Elsewhere, the group has two offshore wind farms in operation: West of Duddon Sands and East Anglia One commissioned in 2017 and 2020 respectively and located in the UK.”

Last year, Iberdrola commenced construction at 800MW Vineyard Wind, which the company claims to be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the US.

In the US, the company has a total of around 5,000MW of offshore wind projects under development, including 804MW Park City Wind and 1,232MW Commonwealth Wind.

Earlier this year, Iberdrola started construction at the 476MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, after securing relevant approvals.

Last month, Iberdrola, through its subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, commenced construction of 1,400MW East Anglia 3 offshore wind farm.

The East Anglia 3 project is being built in an area covering around 305km², off the coast of Norfolk, near the London metropolitan area in the UK.