Squire Patton Boggs has advised EDF Renewables in relation to the sale of a 49% minority stake in 24 of its UK wind farms (c.550 MW). The cash proceeds to EDF at close for the 49% stake were £701 million.
The new partnership with Dalmore Capital Limited and Pensions Infrastructure Platform, with investment from large UK local authority pension schemes, will enable EDF Renewables to continue to develop further renewables energy.
EDF Renewables will continue to own a 51% share in the portfolio of wind farms. It will also continue to run the sites and to provide operations and maintenance requirements, as well as asset management services. EDF Energy will also continue to purchase all of the electricity and ROCs generated by the wind farms on market standard terms. The community benefit fund arrangements associated with each wind farm will remain unchanged.
The team advising EDF Renewables on the transaction was led by London Corporate partner Trevor Ingle, principally assisted by Joe Abbott (Corporate), John Danahy (Real Estate), Matt Mulqueen, Luke McCosker and Rinku Bhadoria (Energy & Natural Resources), Richard Glover (Planning), Paul Brennan (Energy & Natural Resources) and Patrick Ford (Tax Strategy & Benefits).
Burness Paull acted for EDF Renewables on the Scottish real estate aspects of the deal, with the team led by Andrew Wood and Lucy Macartney.
Trevor Ingle commented, “Complementing our longstanding track record and commitment to the renewables sector and working in partnership with EDF’s internal legal team and Burness Paull, we’re delighted to have once again been able to advise longstanding client EDF Renewables on this sale of a minority stake and establishment of this new collaboration. This deal is testament to the quality of the portfolio and the strong level of activity we are continuing to experience across our international renewables practice.”
The wind farms included in the transaction are:
Onshore ROC wind farms: (22)
• Corriemoillie (47.5 MW) – Highlands, Scotland
• Longpark (38 MW) – Borders, Scotland
• Beck Burn (31.1 MW – Cumbria, England
• Burnfoot Hill (26 MW) – Clackmannanshire, Scotland
• Burnhead Moss (26 MW) – Falkirk, Scotland
• Pearie Law (19.2 MW) – West Lothian, Scotland
• Cemmaes (15.3 MW) – Powys, Wales
• Walkway (12.6 MW) – Durham, England
• Rhodders (12.3 MW) – Clackmannanshire, Scotland
• Barmoor (12 MW) – Northumberland, England
• Llangwyryfon (9.4 MW) – Ceredigion – Wales
• Park Spring (8.6 MW) – Barnsley, England
• Broom Hill (8 MW) – Durham, England
• Langley (8 MW) – Durham, England
• Roade (7.2 MW) – Northamptonshire, England
• Fairfield (6.5 MW) – Cumbria, England
• Boundary Lane (6.2 MW) – Durham, England
• High Hedley 2 (5.2 MW) – Durham, England
• Burnfoot North (4.1 MW) – Clackmannanshire, Scotland
• Great Orton (4 MW) – Cumbria, England
• High Hedley 1 (2.4 MW) – Durham, England
• Kirkheaton (1.8 MW) – Northumberland, England
Onshore CfD wind farm: (1)
• Dorenell (177 MW) – Moray, Scotland
Offshore ROC wind farm: (1)
• Teesside (62.1 MW) – North Yorkshire, England
The original press release can be found here on Squire Patton Boggs’s website.