United Kingdom – Ørsted has agreed to sell a 50% stake in its 1.3 GW Hornsea 2 Offshore Wind Farm in the United Kingdom to a consortium led by AXA IM Alts, acting on behalf of clients, and Crédit Agricole Assurances.
Hornsea 2 is currently under construction and will be completed in 2022, making it the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The transaction is worth GBP 3 billion, and it is expected to close in the second half of 2022, once the wind farm is fully operational and all necessary regulatory approvals have been obtained.
After that, each of AXA IM Alts and Crédit Agricole Assurances will own 25% of the project. Hornsea 2 will be funded with a mix of equity and a senior multi-tranche staple financing package provided by 30 banks, including a covered tranche guaranteed by EKF, Denmark’s export credit agency. Ørsted was in charge of originating and structuring the financing package.
Finalizing construction
Hornsea 2 is a 462 km2 offshore wind farm located 89 kilometers off the coast of Yorkshire in the Hornsea zone, one of the world’s largest offshore wind development areas. Hornsea 2 will generate enough green electricity to power more than 1.3 million homes annually, with a capacity of 1.3 GW. Hornsea 2 is an important project that will help the UK government meet its goal of 40 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030.
Ørsted is completing the project’s construction and will provide long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services for the next 20 years from its O&M base in Grimsby, the world’s largest such base for offshore wind farms. In addition, Ørsted will provide balancing services as well as a long-term route to market for the renewable electricity generated at Hornsea 2.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022, pending full commissioning of the Hornsea 2 project and certain regulatory approvals, including from relevant competition authorities.
