RWE to sell stake in four US onshore wind farms to Algonquin

German energy company RWE has signed an agreement to divest 51% stake in four onshore wind facilities in Texas, US, to Algonquin Power & Utilities’ subsidiary for $600m.

Algonquin is a diversified Canadian utility and has assets across the US and Canada.

The four onshore wind farms that are part of the deal are Stella, Cranell, East and West Raymond with a total installed capacity of 861MW and are located in the coastal region of south Texas.

Two of them have commenced operations, while another two are in the construction phase.

The 51% stake accounts to a total pro-rata installed capacity of 439MW.

RWE’s sale of the wind farms is part of its capital rotation programme. The company plans to use the proceeds for making further investments in the renewable energy business.

With 201MW capacity, Stella Wind Farm was commissioned in December 2018, while the 220MW Cranell Wind Farm in September this year.

Currently, Raymond East (200MW) and West (240MW) are in the construction phase and will be commissioned by the end of this year and in the first quarter of next year respectively.

Subject to the commissioning of the projects under construction, the deal is expected to close in the first quarter. Upon completion, RWE will remain the operator of all the wind farms.

In another development, Avangrid Renewables has submitted a construction and operations plan (COP) to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for the first phase of Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind project in the US.

Anticipated to begin construction as soon as 2024, the first phase of the project will have the capacity to generate about 800MW of electricity.

Upon completion of all phases, Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind is expected to have a total generation capacity of up to 2,500MW.