Iberdrola has agreed to sell a 40% stake in its 714MW East Anglia 1 offshore wind farm in the UK to Green Investment Group.
The Macquarie-owned investor will spend €1.75bn to acquire the shareholding once the project is operational next year. The Spanish developer will retain the remaining 60%.
The final agreement with GIG, which Iberdrola says values the full 102-turbine wind farm at €4.4bn, is subject to standard authorisation from the Crown Estate.
GIG head of Europe Edward Northam said: “EA1 is a world class development delivering a huge range of benefits to communities across the UK, and I’m delighted that GIG is partnering with ScottishPower Renewables and the Iberdrola group on the project.”
The acquisition brings the total capacity of UK offshore wind supported by GIG to over 5.7GW, across 14 projects, equivalent to almost 50% of the total UK offshore wind capacity in operations or construction.
Iberdrola said proceeds will be used to fund its “organic growth” via a 2018-22 strategic plan, which will see €13bn spent on new renewables including offshore wind. The company is aiming to have 2GW of offshore wind installed by end-2022.
EA1 will feature Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines and is due to be commissioned in 2020. Installation of the hardware is currently underway at the project, located off the Suffolk coast.