Ørsted has entered into an agreement with Stonepeak, a specialized investment firm focusing on infrastructure and real assets, to sell a portion of its equity ownership in a portfolio comprising of four U.S.
onshore wind farms with a combined capacity of 957 MW. This marks Ørsted’s initial collaboration with Stonepeak and the second significant divestment of multiple assets in the United States.
The transaction is valued at around $300 million. Furthermore, Ørsted had previously secured approximately $700 million in tax equity proceeds for this portfolio, resulting in a total raised amount exceeding $1 billion.
“This deal signifies the value that our US onshore renewable energy projects can deliver to our investors while also demonstrating the holistic and flexible approach we take to partnerships and divestments,” said David Hardy, executive VP and CEO of region Americas at Ørsted.
“While Ørsted will continue to operate each asset over its lifetime, we’ll use this capital to fund projects that continue to create the most value for our stakeholders and fuel our growth in the renewable energy sector.”
The portfolio consists of four wind farms spread across three states: The Ford Ridge Wind project in Illinois, the Helena Wind and Western Trail Wind projects in Texas, and the Sunflower Wind project in Kansas.
These projects were developed in three different markets: the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) respectively.
All the projects are currently operational and have agreements in place for the sale of all or part of their production capacity.
Ørsted will act as the managing member of the partnership and will continue to provide asset management services to the projects.
Ørsted currently has a portfolio of nearly 6 GW of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects that are operational or under construction across the United States.
“The need for efficient infrastructure with the power to further the energy transition continues to grow, and onshore wind continues to play a major role in helping to meet that demand,” said Anthony Borreca, senior managing director at Stonepeak.
“Ørsted’s U.S. onshore assets are young and have been built with trusted technology, which gives us confidence in their potential to make a meaningful and positive long-term impact on the communities they serve.
We look forward to partnering closely with Ørsted on this highly contracted, geographically diverse portfolio.”
Source Ørsted
