Ørsted sells 50% of Borssele 1 & 2 to Norges Bank Investment Management

Ørsted has signed an agreement with Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) to sell 50% of Ørsted's 752-MW Borssele 1 & 2 offshore wind farm.

The transaction is worth €1.375bn, with closure anticipated in summer 2021.

As part of the agreement, Ørsted will continue to provide long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services from its O&M base at the Port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands.

Ørsted will also provide NBIM with balancing services and a long-term route to market for the renewable electricity generated by Borssele 1 & 2.

The wind farm was commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2020 and generates green power equivalent to 1mn households' annual power consumption in the Netherlands.

The deal marks the first investment by NBIM, the asset management arm of Norway’s central bank, in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.

The asset is the first of five large wind farms included in the Dutch government’s offshore wind expansion drive. This aims to add 3.5GW of offshore wind capacity by 2023 and a further 7 GW from then until 2030.

Martin Neubert, chief commercial officer and deputy group CEO of Ørsted, said: "As one of the world's largest institutional investors, Norges Bank Investment Management is making a difference by making sustainable investments. We're delighted to welcome NBIM as partner on Borssele 1 & 2, which is a landmark project for the Netherlands' transition to renewable energy, and we're pleased to support NBIM in their strategy to invest in renewable energy infrastructure assets."

Mie Holstad, chief real assets officer at NBIM, says: "We are very pleased to partner on Borssele 1 & 2 with Ørsted, the market leader in offshore wind. We are excited to have made our first unlisted investment in renewable energy infrastructure, and we look forward to working alongside Ørsted on delivering green energy to Dutch households."

Borssele 1 & 2 is the largest operational offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, and the second-largest in the world, with an installed capacity of 752 MW.

It is located 23 km off the coast of the Dutch region of Zeeland at water depths ranging from 14 to 36 metres. It has 94 Siemens Gamesa 8-MW offshore wind turbines and was fully commissioned in Q4 2020.