RWE to sell 24% in four onshore wind farms in Texas

RWE has signed an agreement with Greencoat to sell a 24 percent stake in four RWE onshore wind farms in Texas.

This contributes for a gross installed capacity of 207 MW pro-rata. The agreed purchasing price of around $160 million corresponds to an enterprise value of around $300 million (24 percent) which converts into an inferred enterprise value of $1.4 million/MW. Three ventures are in progress and one is under construction.

After the close of the deal, RWE will continue to manage all four wind farms. The deal with Greencoat follows on from the announcement made in December 2020 by RWE to reduce its 100 percent interest in the four onshore wind farms and to sell a 51 percent stake to a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.

Properties would then be 51 percent owned by Algonquin, 25 percent owned by RWE and 24 percent owned by Greencoat. The sale is part of the capital rotation program of RWE and the proceeds will be used to fund future development in the green energy sector.

Greencoat is the UK’s largest multinational fund company for renewables with over $8 billion in assets under administration. The transaction expands the fruitful alliance between RWE and Greencoat to the United States. The company also owns stakes in RWE UK ventures, including the offshore wind farms Humber Gateway and Rhyl Flats, as well as the onshore wind farms Little Cheyne Court, Lindhurst and Middlemoor. The arrangement with Greencoat shows the attractiveness of RWE’s North American portfolio.

The U.S. plays a vital role in RWE’s plan to expand its renewables sector. RWE builds, owns and runs some of the most powerful wind, solar and energy storage facilities in the U.S.

RWE has considerable expertise in the U.S. with 27 onshore wind farms in operation and more onshore projects under development. In addition, RWE is constructing a Hickory Park solar project with a co-located storage center.

The four wind farms for which the parties have agreed to enter into a partnership are Stella, Cranell, East and West Raymond. With a gross installed capacity of 861 MW, they are located in the coastal area of southern Texas. Stella Wind Farm (201 MW) was commissioned in December 2018 and Cranell Wind Farm (220 MW) was commissioned in September 2020, followed by East Raymond Wind Farm (200 MW) in December. The West Raymond Wind Farm (240 MW) is currently under construction and is scheduled to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021.