Italian energy company Eni is to take 20% stakes in the Dogger Bank A and B offshore wind farms off the east coast of England.
Eni has entered into agreements with existing developers SSE Renewables and Equinor to buy 10% from each for a total price of £405m – £202.5m for each 10% stake.
The transaction for the projects, which are each rated at 1.2GW, is subject to regulatory and lender approvals. The deal is expected to close in early 2021.
SSE Renewables and Equinor will both retain 40% stakes in the projects, while there is no change to the ownership of the third phase, 1.2GW Dogger Bank C, in which SSE Renewables and Equinor each have a 50% stake.
SSE will also continue to lead the development and construction of the overall wind farm, and Equinor retain responsibility for operation for the wind farm’s life of around 35 years.
Dogger Bank project director Steve Wilson said: “We and our existing partner Equinor look forward to welcoming Eni into our strong partnership.
“With all tier one contracts finalised, and a record £5.5bn project financing announced last week, everything is now in place to deliver on the first two phases of this world-leading project.
“The high level of interest we received from companies wanting to be part of the project demonstrates both the strength of the business case and the progress we’ve already made on the road to building the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
“We warmly welcome Eni to the Dogger Bank team and look forward to working with them on our ground-breaking venture.”
Eni chief executive Claudio Descalzi said: “For Eni, entering the offshore wind market in Northern Europe is a great opportunity to gain further skills in the sector thanks to the collaboration with two of the industry’s leading companies, and to make a substantial contribution to the 2025 target of 5GW of installed capacity from renewables, an intermediate step towards the more ambitious target of zero net direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions in Europe by 2050.”
Dogger Bank will be the first project to use the 13MW GE Haliade-X turbines and when fully completed in 2026, each phase will be able to produce 6 terrawatt-hours of electricity.
Onshore construction is currently underway for Dogger Bank A and B, with offshore construction at Dogger Bank A due to begin in the second quarter of 2022.
For both phases, onshore and offshore cable and all turbine foundations will be installed by 2023.
First power is expected in Summer 2023 and Summer 2024 for Dogger Bank A and B, respectively, with commercial operations to begin the following year.