Ørsted Divests Four U.S. Wind Farm Projects for $300M

Ørsted is divesting an equity ownership stake in four U.S. onshore wind farms in Illinois, Texas and Kansas totaling 957MW, to infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak for about $300 million.

NY-based Stonepeak, which recently agreed to a $2.6 billion deal with Dominion Energy for 50% the 2.6 GW U.S. Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind, will receive 80% of the cash distributions associated with the projects, while Ørsted will continue to operate the portfolio of assets.

Ørsted has previously raised approximately $700 million in tax equity proceeds for the portfolio, bringing the total proceeds raised to approximately $1 billion.

The Danish energy group retains a unilateral call option for Stonepeak’s interests that can be exercised under certain circumstances after the closing of the transaction, according to the company.

The transaction corresponds to Ørsted’s “farm-down approach”, in which ownership shares of existing operating assets are divested to recycle and redeploy capital for future value-creating projects.

This is the second major divestment of multiple assets in the U.S. for Ørsted.

“The need for efficient infrastructure with the power to further the energy transition continues to grow, and onshore wind continues to play a major role in helping to meet that demand,” said Anthony Borreca, senior managing director at Stonepeak.

Ørsted currently has a portfolio of nearly 6 GW of onshore wind, solar, and battery storage projects in operation and under construction across the U.S.