Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has acquired 50% of Statkraft’s 2200MW Irish offshore wind portfolio.
The portfolio consists of four development projects off Ireland’s east and south-east coast in the Irish Sea, including the North Irish Sea Array (NISA) and the Bore Array, with a combination of fixed bottom and floating offshore foundations.
CIP acquired the stake on behalf of its fund Copenhagen Infrastructure IV (CI IV) fund.
The financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.
The Irish Government has set a 2030 target of 7GW of installed offshore wind requiring rapid deployment and delivery of the most mature development projects, which includes the 500MW flagship project in the portfolio, NISA I.
NISA I is eligible to bid into the Irish Government’s first Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme auction (ORESS) in 2023.
The sites are expected to be among the first commercial scale offshore wind projects in Ireland with commercial operations expected to commence in 2028.
Statkraft and CIP expect to invest more than €4bn in the market before 2030.
In the partnership Statkraft’s local presence in Ireland will be combined with CIP’s international offshore wind investment, development and construction experience.
Copenhagen Offshore Partners, an exclusive offshore wind development partner of CIP’s, will co-lead project development activities.
CIP partner Nischal Agarwal said: “We are very pleased to be entering the Irish offshore market and look forward to developing these exciting projects together with Statkraft.
“In combining CIP’s industrial background and international experience within offshore wind with Statkraft’s experience of Irish renewables the partnership will enable the provision of renewable power to Irish homes and businesses and contribute to reaching the government’s ambitious decarbonisation targets.”