Canada-based energy company Enbridge Inc has agreed to offload 49 per cent of its 50 per cent interest in the developer of three offshore wind projects in France to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, which operates as CPP Investments. Enbridge executed the agreements with CPP on May 1, 2020 to sell part of its stake in Éolien Maritime France SAS (EMF),which is a 50/50 joint venture between Enbridge and French power utility EDF, which is working to develop three wind farms offshore France. These include the 480-MW Saint Nazaire, the 498-MW Fecamp and the 450-MW Courseulles wind farms.
The seller estimates it will get more than CAD 100 million in total from the deal and will additionally get contributions by CPP Investments from its pro-rata 49 per cent share of all future development capital once the deal closes. Following the sale, Enbridge, through its remaining investment in EMF, will own 25.5 per cent of Saint Nazaire, 17.9 per cent of Fecam and 21.7 per cent of the Courseulles project.
EMF won the three projects back in 2012 when the French government launched its first call for tenders in the offshore wind sector. In 2019, the Saint Nazaire offshore wind project reached a positive final investment decision and is expected to enter service in 2022. The project in the Loire-Atlantique region in coastal France is a 480 MW wind farm that will feature 80 GE Haliade 160-6MW turbines to be manufactured in France. According to GE, each Haliade turbine powers 5,000 homes; the project is expected to generate the equivalent of 20 per cent of the Loire-Atlantique’s electricity consumption. The remaining two offshore wind projects are expected to reach a final investment decision by next year.
The deal is subject to regulatory clearance and is expected to be finalised in the last quarter of this year.
