Wednesday 15th June 2016

Blackstone closes €1.3bn WindMW sale

Blackstone has sold its 80% stake in German offshore wind firm WindMW to China Three Gorges Corporation for around €1.3bn.

The US private equity giant said this week it has sold the majority stake in WindMW, which owns the 288MW Meerwind Sud and Ost in the German North Sea. The firm did not disclose financial details, but sources said the final deal valued WindMW at around €1.7bn.

Hydropower giant China Three Gorges entered European offshore wind last October as it agreed to buy an up-to-30% stake in the proposed up-to-1.1GW Moray development in UK waters from the Portuguese utility EDP Renovaveis.

Tata agrees giant $1.4bn Indian buyout

Indian conglomerate Tata Group has agreed a $1.4bn deal with Welspun that would turn Tata into India’s largest renewables firm.

Tata division Tata Power Renewable Energy has agreed to buy Welspun Energy subsidiary Welspun Renewables Energy, which has a 1.1GW portfolio. This is set to be India’s largest renewable energy transaction when it completes, which is due in September. The Welspun portfolio is made up of solar schemes comprising 990MW and wind farms totalling 150MW.

Tata Power Renewable Energy has a 294MW renewables portfolio, with 400MW in the development pipeline; and is due to receive a further 500MW of assets from its parent company. Its portfolio is set to reach 2.3GW when the the Welspun deal completes.

Irish duo win backing for 172MW

Irish energy firm ESB and utility Bord na Móna have won consent to build the 172MW Oweninny wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The firms plan to start construction on the 61-turbine project near Bellacorick in the north of County Mayo in 2017. This is set to be the largest wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The approval follows an oral hearing on the scheme in 2014, after which the companies reduced the number of turbines proposed in the development by almost half, from 112.

Norway approves 135MW by Fred Olsen

The Norwegian energy ministry has given Fred Olsen Renewables consent to build the 135MW Gilja wind farms in southeast Norway.

The ministry gave a license to build and operate the projects in Gjsedal municipality this week. The project was initially approved by the country’s water and energy directorate, but had been the subject of a challenge by local residents and community groups because of concerns over the damage to biodiversity. The ministry has dismissed this challenge.

Fred Olsen Renewables is a subsidiary of Norwegian shipping giant Fred Olsen.

Report: ‘Wind costs to fall 41% by 2040’

The levelised cost of energy from onshore wind farms is set to fall 41% by 2040, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has forecast.

The ‘New Energy Outlook 2016’ report, which was published on Monday, has forecast that onshore wind and solar farms would be the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s; and in most of the world in the 2030s.

The report also predicted that $7.8trn would be invested in renewables schemes by 2040, of which $3.1trn would be in the onshore and offshore wind sectors.

Blackstone closes €1.3bn WindMW sale

Blackstone has sold its 80% stake in German offshore wind firm WindMW to China Three Gorges Corporation for around €1.3bn.

The US private equity giant said this week it has sold the majority stake in WindMW, which owns the 288MW Meerwind Sud and Ost in the German North Sea. The firm did not disclose financial details, but sources said the final deal valued WindMW at around €1.7bn.

Hydropower giant China Three Gorges entered European offshore wind last October as it agreed to buy an up-to-30% stake in the proposed up-to-1.1GW Moray development in UK waters from the Portuguese utility EDP Renovaveis.

Tata agrees giant $1.4bn Indian buyout

Indian conglomerate Tata Group has agreed a $1.4bn deal with Welspun that would turn Tata into India’s largest renewables firm.

Tata division Tata Power Renewable Energy has agreed to buy Welspun Energy subsidiary Welspun Renewables Energy, which has a 1.1GW portfolio. This is set to be India’s largest renewable energy transaction when it completes, which is due in September. The Welspun portfolio is made up of solar schemes comprising 990MW and wind farms totalling 150MW.

Tata Power Renewable Energy has a 294MW renewables portfolio, with 400MW in the development pipeline; and is due to receive a further 500MW of assets from its parent company. Its portfolio is set to reach 2.3GW when the the Welspun deal completes.

Irish duo win backing for 172MW

Irish energy firm ESB and utility Bord na Móna have won consent to build the 172MW Oweninny wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The firms plan to start construction on the 61-turbine project near Bellacorick in the north of County Mayo in 2017. This is set to be the largest wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The approval follows an oral hearing on the scheme in 2014, after which the companies reduced the number of turbines proposed in the development by almost half, from 112.

Norway approves 135MW by Fred Olsen

The Norwegian energy ministry has given Fred Olsen Renewables consent to build the 135MW Gilja wind farms in southeast Norway.

The ministry gave a license to build and operate the projects in Gjsedal municipality this week. The project was initially approved by the country’s water and energy directorate, but had been the subject of a challenge by local residents and community groups because of concerns over the damage to biodiversity. The ministry has dismissed this challenge.

Fred Olsen Renewables is a subsidiary of Norwegian shipping giant Fred Olsen.

Report: ‘Wind costs to fall 41% by 2040’

The levelised cost of energy from onshore wind farms is set to fall 41% by 2040, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has forecast.

The ‘New Energy Outlook 2016’ report, which was published on Monday, has forecast that onshore wind and solar farms would be the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s; and in most of the world in the 2030s.

The report also predicted that $7.8trn would be invested in renewables schemes by 2040, of which $3.1trn would be in the onshore and offshore wind sectors.

Blackstone closes €1.3bn WindMW sale

Blackstone has sold its 80% stake in German offshore wind firm WindMW to China Three Gorges Corporation for around €1.3bn.

The US private equity giant said this week it has sold the majority stake in WindMW, which owns the 288MW Meerwind Sud and Ost in the German North Sea. The firm did not disclose financial details, but sources said the final deal valued WindMW at around €1.7bn.

Hydropower giant China Three Gorges entered European offshore wind last October as it agreed to buy an up-to-30% stake in the proposed up-to-1.1GW Moray development in UK waters from the Portuguese utility EDP Renovaveis.

Tata agrees giant $1.4bn Indian buyout

Indian conglomerate Tata Group has agreed a $1.4bn deal with Welspun that would turn Tata into India’s largest renewables firm.

Tata division Tata Power Renewable Energy has agreed to buy Welspun Energy subsidiary Welspun Renewables Energy, which has a 1.1GW portfolio. This is set to be India’s largest renewable energy transaction when it completes, which is due in September. The Welspun portfolio is made up of solar schemes comprising 990MW and wind farms totalling 150MW.

Tata Power Renewable Energy has a 294MW renewables portfolio, with 400MW in the development pipeline; and is due to receive a further 500MW of assets from its parent company. Its portfolio is set to reach 2.3GW when the the Welspun deal completes.

Irish duo win backing for 172MW

Irish energy firm ESB and utility Bord na Móna have won consent to build the 172MW Oweninny wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The firms plan to start construction on the 61-turbine project near Bellacorick in the north of County Mayo in 2017. This is set to be the largest wind farm in the Republic of Ireland.

The approval follows an oral hearing on the scheme in 2014, after which the companies reduced the number of turbines proposed in the development by almost half, from 112.

Norway approves 135MW by Fred Olsen

The Norwegian energy ministry has given Fred Olsen Renewables consent to build the 135MW Gilja wind farms in southeast Norway.

The ministry gave a license to build and operate the projects in Gjsedal municipality this week. The project was initially approved by the country’s water and energy directorate, but had been the subject of a challenge by local residents and community groups because of concerns over the damage to biodiversity. The ministry has dismissed this challenge.

Fred Olsen Renewables is a subsidiary of Norwegian shipping giant Fred Olsen.

Report: ‘Wind costs to fall 41% by 2040’

The levelised cost of energy from onshore wind farms is set to fall 41% by 2040, Bloomberg New Energy Finance has forecast.

The ‘New Energy Outlook 2016’ report, which was published on Monday, has forecast that onshore wind and solar farms would be the cheapest ways of producing electricity in many countries during the 2020s; and in most of the world in the 2030s.

The report also predicted that $7.8trn would be invested in renewables schemes by 2040, of which $3.1trn would be in the onshore and offshore wind sectors.