UK utility SSE has agreed to sell its quarter-stake in the 367MW Walney wind farm off England’s northwest coast as it begins a £2bn ($2.6bn) asset sell-off to help fund its renewable growth ambitions.

SSE will sell its 25.1% non-operating share for £350m to infrastructure fund Greencoat UK Wind.

The sale marks the first stage in SSE’s plans to dispose of £2bn worth of non-core assets. The utility will have 3.9GW of renewable generation capacity in its portfolio following the stake sale in Walney, which was commissioned early in the last decade.

“Walney has been a good financial investment for SSE, but we see it as a non-core asset as we are not the principal operator,” said SSE’s finance director Gregor Alexander.

“This transaction is a key first step in our £2bn asset disposal programme announced in June and will enable SSE to build-out its £7.5bn low carbon investment programme over the next five years.”

SSE’s other UK wind farm stakes include 50% in Greater Gabbard and 40% in Beatrice, both of which it operates. Its renewable capacity is set to grow with investments in the Seagreen (49%) and Dogger Bank (50%) offshore wind farms, as well as the Viking onshore wind farm on Shetland, which it owns outright.

Walney receives two Renewable Obligation Certificates per megawatt-hour of support, which run until 2031 and 2032 for Walney 1 and 2 respectively. Besides SSE, the Walney ownership comprises Denmark’s Orsted with 50.1% and Dutch pension fund PGGM with 24.8%.

“The acquisition is our third offshore wind farm investment since listing in 2013, following our investments in Rhyl Flats and North Hoyle,” said Greencoat UK Wind chair Shonaid Jemmett-Page. “Walney is a natural addition to our portfolio of operating UK wind farms and increases our net generating capacity to over 1GW for the first time.”

Wind

SSE kicks off $2.6bn asset disposal with UK offshore wind stake sale