RWE sells further stakes in Texas portfolio

As part of a global reboot, German developer RWE has pressed ahead with its divestment of 207MW of onshore wind capacity in Texas to UK investment manager Greencoat

by James Agyepong-Parsons 19 January 2021

RWE sold stakes in four Texan wind farms to Greencoat, including the 201MW Stella project

Announced today, RWE has shed a further 24% stake in four onshore wind farms in the coastal region of southern Texas for $160 million.

These are the 201MW Stella , 220MW Cranell , 200MW East Raymond and 240MW West Raymond wind farms with a total installed capacity of 861MW.

The West Raymond project is the only wind farm still under construction but is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021, the company said.

The agreement with Greencoat to sell a 24% stake in all four RWE onshore wind farms accounts for a total pro-rata installed capacity of 207MW for the agreed purchase price of around $160 million – around $1.4 million/MW, RWE confirmed.

The latest sell-off comes as part of the company’s “capital rotation programme”, in which the sale proceeds of the latest divestment will help fund its 13GW renewables expansion programme by investing €5 billion net (~$6m) over the next three years, the company said.

Last month, RWE agreed a deal to sell a 51% stake in the four Texan wind farms to an Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp subsidiary for $600 million.

Ultimately, this means RWE remains a 25% stakeholder in all four wind farms while 51% is owned by Algonquin and 24% by Greencoat.

Greencoat is already a partner in other RWE projects in the UK, including the 90MW Rhyl Flats offshore wind farm and onshore wind farms 65MW Little Cheyne Court , 9MW Lindhurst and 54MW Middlemoor .

In November, it also took a 49% stake in RWE’s UK 219MW Humber Gateway offshore wind farm for a cash consideration of £648m (~$882.4m).

In a press statement, RWE said: “The announcement of this transaction with Greencoat does not change RWE’s financial guidance or its ambitions for investment and growth in the renewable energy business.”

It added: “By the end of 2022, RWE aims to expand its renewables portfolio to more than 13GW of capacity by investing €5 billion net. Together with partners, the gross investment volume can amount to up to €9 billion.

“To achieve its growth targets, RWE has an attractive project development pipeline of more than 22 gigawatts, across all of the company’s strategic core regions.

The latest transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021.