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New England utility Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) is nearing a deal to offload its 50% stake in a 1.8-GW portfolio of contracted US offshore wind projects held through a joint venture with Denmark’s Ørsted A/S (CPH:ORSTED).
“[W]e have substantially completed our contract negotiations with a buyer and continued to make good progress on this front,” Eversource’s CEO Joseph Nolan said during the utility’s third-quarter earnings call. Nolan did not disclose the name of the buyer but reiterated that it is “very familiar to Ørsted” as they have already done transactions together. According to him, the only thing left is for the buyer to finalise several documents with the Danish group, such as their new JV deal.
These comments come more than a year after Eversource kicked off a strategic review of its offshore wind investment portfolio that was aimed at exploring strategic alternatives for the business, including a full or partial sale of its 50% stake in the JV with Ørsted.
The Boston-based utility in September sold to Ørsted its share in the uncontracted federal offshore wind lease area in the US Northeast and said it would be in the best long-term interest of the company to also sell its interest in the already contracted projects held by the JV.
With the divestment, Eversource will exit its JV with Ørsted that was formed six years ago and owns three contracted projects – the 132-MW South Fork Wind and 920-MW Sunrise Wind off New York, as well as the 704-MW Revolution Wind, located between Connecticut and Rhode Island. A final investment decision (FID) on the latter project was taken at the start of November.
(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.935)
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