The Green Investment Group, now owned by Macquarie Group, has this week announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in the 210 megawatt (MW) Westermost Rough offshore wind farm from Marubeni Corporation.
Announced on Tuesday, the Green Investment Group (GIG) — which was recently acquired by Macquarie Group and now acts as the Group’s specialist green energy principal investment business — has acquired a 25% stake in the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm which was held by the Marubeni Corporation, a Japanese sōgō shōsha company with holds interests in a variety of sectors.
The Green Investment Group’s 25% acquisition increases its existing stake in the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm, that is held as part of a consortium with Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (MEIF5) and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). The remaining 50% of Westermost Rough is held by project developer Ørsted.
The 210 MW Westermost Rough offshore wind farm was officially inaugurated in July of 2015, and is made up of 35 of Siemens Gamesa 6 MW wind turbines. Located 8 kilometers off the Holderness coast in the United Kingdom, it generates enough electricity to supply the needs of around 150,000 British households each year.
“Westermost Rough is a landmark project in the evolution of the offshore wind industry, both in the UK and internationally,” said Edward Northam, Head of GIG in Europe. “The technical and financial innovations deployed during the development, construction and operation of the wind farm have helped improve performance levels and reduce the cost of wind power generation, making it significantly more cost competitive. We are extremely proud of this pioneering green investment.
“Alongside Ørsted, Marubeni has been an excellent partner on the project, which owes much to the company’s pioneering and collaborative spirit. Marubeni has played a crucial role in supporting the growth of the UK and global green economies and we look forward to exploring further opportunities to cooperate in future.”
“Marubeni is committed to actively support the global energy transition to renewable energy with the aim to increase renewable energy capacity in our portfolio to 20%, doubling the past target,” added a spokesman for the Marubeni Corporation (PDF). “In order to achieve that ambition, Marubeni is keen to deploy the skills and knowledge we gained from our investments in offshore wind farms, including Westermost Rough.
“GIG is a leading player in the offshore wind sector and has been an important partner for us. We look forward to exploring further collaboration opportunities with them in future.”
Source: cleantechnica.com
