Swedish renewable energy company OX2 has signed an agreement with Ingka Investments, the largest owner and operator of IKEA Retail, to sell a 49% stake in three offshore wind projects in Finland.
Located in the Gulf of Bothnia in the Finnish exclusive economic zone, the three offshore wind projects, dubbed Halla, Laine and Tyrsky, will have a total installed capacity of about 6,000MW.
Under the terms of the agreement, OX2 will receive a price of SEK0.8m ($77,000) per MW, in exchange for 49% of the planned capacity, after securing the necessary permissions to continue development.
Once operational, three projects are expected to produce a total of up to 29TWh, which indicates more than one-third of the electricity consumed in Finland in 2022.
Halla and Laine, the most advanced offshore wind projects in Finland, are anticipated to become operational by the end of this decade, said the Swedish energy company.
OX2 CEO Paul Stormoen said: “We believe that large-scale offshore wind production will be a powerful contributor to meet the growing energy demand in the region.
“I am very happy to reinforce our partnership and we look forward to continuing to drive the transition to renewable energy together with Ingka.”
The transaction is expected to be completed within two months, subject to customary competition merger filing requirements.
Upon completion, both OX2 and Ingka Investments will share the development costs for the projects, as per their respective ownership.
OX2 said that the transaction is in line with its strategy to diversify risk and capitalise on offshore wind throughout the development phases.
Last year, Ingka Investments acquired 49% in three of OX2’s offshore projects in Sweden and OX2 has previously sold nine onshore wind farms and one solar farm to Ingka Group.
Ingka Investments managing director Peter van der Poel said: “This cooperation is a further bold move in expanding our investment activities to address climate footprint reduction well beyond our own consumption and into our value chain.
“We are increasing our global investments and commitments in renewable energy from over €3.5bn today to €6.5bn before 2030.”
