OX2 to divest stakes in Swedish offshore wind projects to IKEA owner
OX2 to divest stakes in Swedish offshore wind projects to Ikea owner | Windpower Monthly
OX2 has agreed the sale of a 49% stake in a portfolio of Swedish offshore wind projects to Ikea owner Ingka Investments.
According to the agreement, OX2 will receive an initial payment of around SEK 230 million (€20 million). Following successful permitting, it would then receive an additional payment of approximately SEK 700,000/MW (€61,000/MW), for 49% of the planned capacity.
It should positively impact OX2’s 2023 operating income by approximately SEK 200 million (€17.6 million).
The transaction includes the Pleione and Neptunus developments. They are planned for sites in the Baltic Sea, to the east of Gotland and south-east of Blekinge, respectively.
The partners are also exploring further opportunities in the Swedish market, including the Ran project, which is located near Pleione. Pleione-Ran could provide 2.8GW and Neptunus, 2-3GW.
Following the completion of the transaction, the projects’ development costs will be shared, in proportion to the parties’ respective ownership.
It is OX2’s third offshore transaction with Ingka Investments, following those for 49% stakes in three Finnish offshore projects earlier this year and three Swedish offshore projects in 2022.
The companies will also investigate establishing offshore hydrogen production facilities and how this can aid artificial oxygenation of the Baltic Sea.
Related Knowledge Center: Offshore wind energy
Over the next decade, U.S. offshore wind power is expected to grow from a single 30-megawatt wind farm off Rhode Island to more than 2,000 MW of capacity along the Atlantic Seaboard. There are contracts for wind power off the coasts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Virginia.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has estimated the United States has over 4,000 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind potential, enough to power the country four times over.
The growth in part being spurred by state solicitations, including in New York, where then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) set a commitment of 9,000 MW of offshore wind by 2035, and in Connecticut, where in June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed legislation authorizing the construction of 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030.
The offshore development is also being driven by an investment tax credit set to end in December 2019 and is equal to 12 percent of expenditures. U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) have introduced a bill to extend the tax credit for up to eight years.
The Interior Department has held eight competitive lease sales that resulted in 15 offshore wind leases over 1.7 million acres that has the potential for 21 GW of capacity. In February 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a bidding process that realized $4.37 billion for 488,000 acres across six lease areas in federal waters off New York and New Jersey.
Projects have also been proposed off the Southeast coast, off California and Hawaii, and for the Great Lakes.