Wednesday 19th August 2015

Wind Watch

JP Morgan plans Leap Green stake sale

JP Morgan plans to sell around half of its stake in Indian investor Leap Green Energy for an estimated $225m.

The investment arm of JP Morgan currently holds a 75% stake in the Chennai-based company, which is valued at $550m-$600m.

According to local media, JP Morgan has started initial discussions with foreign renewable energy producers and private equity funds.

NTR spins out European wind business

Renewable energy investor NTR is set to transfer its European wind business into new holding company NTR Plc.

Following the demerger, the Irish conglomerate plans to leave its existing toll roads business with separate holding company Altas Investments. NTR's current chief executive Rosheen McGuckian is set to transfer to the new wind business.

NTR targets small- and medium-sized projects in pre-construction, with an active portfolio of over 20 single-turbine projects in Northern Ireland. The plan is due to be confirmed on 9 September.

Vattenfall drops decade-old UK project

Vattenfall has scrapped plans for an 11-turbine wind farm in north Wales after ten years in development.

The Swedish utility said that changing market conditions in the UK meant that the 22MW Nant Bach wind farm, which gained planning consent in 2011, was no longer financially viable.

It has been suggested that, in order to improve its plan for the site, Vattenfall would have had to build larger turbines and re-file for planning permission. This would have been difficult given changes to UK planning rules for new onshore wind developments.

EU set to back €12.4bn GE-Alstom deal

General Electric is expected to secure EU approval next month for its proposed €12.4bn purchase of Alstom’s power assets.

The US multinational offered concessions last month to address competition concerns from the European Commission, and improved its package last week. The Commission is due to make a decision on 11 September, and sources close to the deal said they were confident it would now go ahead following the revised offer.

GE’s acquisition of French peer Alstom has the backing of the French government, which is set to buy up to 20% of Alstom from construction group Bouygues once the GE bid is cleared.