The ENI SpA logo as seen on the company’s headquarters in Rome, Italy.
Alessia Pierdomenico | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Italian energy firm Eni is taking a 20% stake in what is set to be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
The energy firms Equinor and SSE are both selling 10% stakes in the first two phases of the project, which is situated off the U.K. coast.
Eni will now take a share of Dogger Bank A & B, which will have a combined capacity of 2.4 gigawatts when fully operational. Upon completion of the deal, Equinor and SSE’s share in Dogger Bank A & B will still amount to 40% each.
In an announcement at the end of last week, Equinor said it would sell its equity interest in the scheme for around £202.5 million (approximately $269.39 million).
In its own release, SSE said its stake would be sold for the same amount, “subject to adjustments for interest on closing.” The deal is expected to close next year, subject to relevant approvals.
At the end of November, it was announced that a deal to finance Dogger Bank A & B had been completed.
In a statement at the time, SSE said funding for the first two phases of the project, which will be located in waters off the northeast coast of England, represented “the largest ever offshore wind project financing anywhere in the world.”
Investment for Dogger Bank A and B will amount to approximately £6 billion (around $8 billion), it added.
The third phase of the project, Dogger Bank C, is being developed to a different schedule, with a financial close expected toward the end of 2021. Both Equinor and SSE have a 50% share in Dogger Bank C.
The scale of the overall scheme, which is due to be finished in 2026, is considerable. Equinor and SSE have both described it as the “world’s biggest offshore wind farm.”
Phases A and B will use GE’s 13 megawatt Haliade-X turbine, while the wind farm as a whole will have the ability to power millions of homes in the U.K. annually. Onshore construction works for the project started earlier this year.
SSE Renewables is heading up construction of the facility, while its operations are to be led by Equinor.
