Ørsted, the Danish energy giant, has agreed to pay $625 million for Eversource Energy’s 50 per cent ownership in the two companies’ uncontracted federal offshore wind lease joint venture. The agreement also includes contracts and partnerships that are critical to operating assets. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 after receiving regulatory approval. The arrangement, according to Ørsted, will strengthen its position in the US offshore wind sector and demonstrate its commitment to building a supply chain that can support job creation in the country.
The company will acquire lease area OCS-A 500, which is 187,000 acres of uncontracted seabed with a potential production capacity of 4 GW. It will also acquire contracts and leases for port facilities and other assets and take ownership of partnerships with the Port of Providence, the Port of Davisville, and Quonset Point, all in Rhode Island, and with Connecticut’s New London State Pier. Ørsted will also own an operations and maintenance hub in East Setauket, New York, and the charter agreement for an offshore wind service operation vessel that is being built at Edison Chouest’s facility in Houma, Louisiana.
In May 2023, Baltica Offshore Wind Farm developers PGE and Ørsted formalised the partnership for the offshore wind project’s land connection, which includes Biuro Studiów, Projektów i Realizacji (EnergoprojektKatowice) and Energopomiar. According to the agreement, the consortium would oversee the general contractor’s work as an investor as the line and station portions of the onshore connection are being built. According to the timeline, Baltica Offshore Wind Farm’s phases, including Baltica 2 (1.5 GW) and Baltica 3 (1 GW), would be launched by the end of this decade.
