TotalEnergies sells $689m stake in 1.1GW Scottish offshore wind farm to Thai state oil firm
Deal raises Seagreen plant valuation to $4.3bn, up from $3.7bn in 2021, when French oil major first acquired its 51% stake
French oil major TotalEnergies announced sale of a substantial stake in its 1.1GW Seagreen offshore wind farm facing Scotland to longstanding Thai partner, state petroleum firm PTTEP.
The agreement would see PTTEP take a 25.5% stake in the project for £522m ($689m), with TotalEnergies retaining 25.5% and UK-based energy firm SSE Renewables owning the remaining 49%.
“This transaction is a new milestone in the implementation of our transition strategy and will contribute to reaching our 12% profitability target in Integrated Power business”, he added.
The project, located 27km off Angus, is the deepest fixed bottom array in the world, with several of its 114 10MW Vestas turbines installed in waters below 57 metres.
The project can generate enough power for 1.6 million homes, some two-thirds of Scotland’s residences. It has been sending power to the Scottish grid since 2022 and after a series of delays, installed its final turbine in June this year.
Seagreen was awarded to SSE Renewables by the UK Crown Estate in 2010 as part of its Round 3 auction and consented in October 2014, but further development was waylaid until November 2017 due to an ultimately unsuccessful legal challenge by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
The project roared back to life in 2019 when it won a 15-year UK government contract-for-difference (CfD) power deal for 454MW of its capacity at a rate of £41.61/MWh, with utility Statkraft later signing up to buy 50% of the project’s output under a long-term agreement.
This is the Thai state energy firm's initial step into offshore wind and is part of its efforts to decarbonise its operations. The firm is targeting net-zero emissions by 2050.
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