Orsted and Engie have signed a share purchase agreement under which the French company will acquire Ostwind International SAS, Ostwind Engineering SA, and its subsidiaries (jointly Ostwind France), Orsted’s onshore wind and solar business in France.
The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024.
“As part of our updated business plan, we revised our build-out ambitions towards 2030 with an emphasis on where we believe we can realise the most value for Orsted,” said the company’s senior vice president and head of onshore in region Europe Kieran White.
“Building on this plan, we’ve decided to concentrate our efforts on the UK, Irish, German, and Spanish markets for onshore wind and solar, in Europe.
“In this light, I’m very pleased that we’ve found a good future owner of Ostwind France in Engie.”
The Ostwind France business has been developing renewables projects for more than 20 years. It has 54MW in operation and a further 24MW of wind projects under construction in the country. In addition, Ostwind France is continuing to advance a wider pipeline of projects, said the Danish developer.
Orsted took over Ostwind France in 2022 as part of the acquisition of the French and German onshore platform from Ostwind AG.
The German part of the Ostwind transaction has been integrated fully into Orsted and will remain a focus of its European onshore wind and solar investments, said the company.
The Danish outfit’s German onshore wind business has advanced a number of projects towards final investment decision and continues to develop an attractive pipeline of onshore wind and solar projects.
With the divestment of Ostwind France, Orsted will have no remaining activities in France.
“This acquisition brings ENGIE Green high-quality wind and solar sites as well as a large portfolio of projects in development,” said Engie Green managing director William Arkwright.
“We are delighted to welcome Ostwind France employees to our teams. This integration contributes to our ambition to actively contribute to the development of renewable energies in France.”