SSE agrees to sell four wind farms

Energy group SSE said Wednesday that it has agreed a deal under which it will sell four wind farms, which have a total generation capacity of 79.5MW, to a new fund managed by Greencoat Capital, which plans to list on the London Stock Exchange.

The farms will be sold for a total cash consideration of £140m, and SSE will invest up to £43m of the consideration into shares in the new fund. This will be reduced if the fund is over-subscribed.

As part of the deal, SSE has agreed to enter into power purchase agreements (PPA) for three of the wind farms totaling 43.5MW (the fourth wind farm already has a PPA with a third party) and will continue to have the operation and maintenance contract for all four wind farms.

Gregor Alexander, Finance Director of SSE, said: "This agreement represents the latest step in a programme of acquisitions and disposals to optimise our wind farm portfolio. Fundamentally, SSE owns generation capacity to meet the electricity needs of its own customers, which is why we were pleased to be able to establish new PPAs before disposing of these assets.

"The proceeds from these disposals will support our investment in new renewable assets in the coming financial year and, in line with our commitment to financial discipline, represent an excellent example of SSE creating ongoing value from its investment pipeline while improving the liquidity of the market for investment in new renewable developments."

The sale of the wind farms is dependent on Greencoat Capital successfully listing on the London Stock Exchange and raising the required capital. It is expected that this process will be completed by the end of March, at which stage completion of the sale will also take place.

NR