Sweden’s power company Vattenfall has signed a GBP 237 million (EUR 327 million) deal to partner up with Swedish pension group AMF on the 150 MW Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm.
The partnership agreement means that AMF will take a 49% share in Ormonde, with Vattenfall continuing to operate the wind farm as majority shareholder.
”AMF manages the pension funds of four million customers, meaning the responsibility to create good and secure pensions through long-term investments. The Ormonde wind farm investment being sustainable with good returns fits us therefore very well. Conditions for offshore wind power in the UK are favourable and in combinations with the partnership and deep knowledge in the wind area of Vattenfall we feel confident about doing this investment,” said Peder Hasslev, Head of Asset Management of AMF.
Ormonde is a 30 turbine site located in the Irish Sea, 10km off Barrow-in-Furness in North West England. The farm has been generating low carbon power since 2011, and is one of four offshore wind farms that Vattenfall operates in the UK.
“The market has shown a considerable interest in Ormonde. The main reason is that the wind farm is profitable and considered to have good prospects for stable and continuous profitability. Our partner AMF is a serious and long-term investor. We are therefore very pleased with completion of this deal,” said Magnus Hall, President and CEO of Vattenfall.
Vattenfall announced the partnering strategy in 2014 to raise funds to support growth in its renewable business. Vattenfall currently plans to invest approximately SEK 50 billion (EUR 5.4 billion) in new wind power generation by 2020 and to triple wind capacity to at least 6GW in the next ten years.
“Our partnering strategy is now paying off and delivering additional funds to fulfil our ambitious growth targets within the wind area, thereby supporting Vattenfall’s overall strategy to transform our production portfolio towards renewables. We are really pleased to have established a partnership with AMF and look forward to building a strong relationship going forward,” said Gunnar Groebler, Senior Vice President, Business Area Wind.