Ørsted to acquire Eversource share of uncontracted offshore wind seabed
In addition to the seabed, which is in early-stage development, the agreement also includes contracts and partnerships for key operational assets in the Northeast.
Ørsted has signed an agreement to acquire Eversource Energy’s 50 percent interest in the uncontracted federal offshore wind lease area currently owned jointly by the two companies.
The lease area, identified as Lease Area OCS-A 500 (Lease 500), contains approximately 187,000 uncontracted acres of seabed for American offshore wind energy and has a potential capacity of up to 4 gigawatts. As part of this agreement, Ørsted will acquire contracts and leases for strategic port facilities and other assets. Ørsted will take full ownership of partnerships with the Port of Providence, the Port of Davisville, and Quonset Point, all in Rhode Island, and with Connecticut's New London State Pier. Ørsted will also take full ownership of the operations and maintenance hub in East Setauket, N.Y., and the charter agreement for the first American-built offshore wind service operations vessel, which is under construction at Edison Chouest’s facility in Houma, Louisiana, and is more than 50 percent complete.
David Hardy, Group EVP and CEO Americas at Ørsted, said:
“This acquisition further demonstrates our long-term commitment to building an American offshore wind energy industry and the value creation opportunities we see in the U.S. market. In addition to taking full ownership of seabed that is familiar to our team after years of work in this area, we will also be the sole bidder in our New York 3 and Rhode Island 2 active offshore wind solicitations. The combination of the seabed and additional components in this agreement further establish a major hub in the Northeast for our activities and future opportunities.”
Joe Nolan, Eversource’s president, chief executive officer, and chairman, said:
“We continue to expect that offshore wind projects built in our partnership’s lease area, including the three now under development, will play a critical role in decarbonizing the generation mix of Southern New England and New York.”
Eversource announced last year it was reviewing its offshore wind energy portfolio and considering whether to sell related assets. In addition to the agreement with Ørsted to sell its uncontracted seabed and other interests, Eversource determined that it is in the best long-term interest of the company to pursue the sale of its existing 50 percent interest in its three jointly owned contracted offshore wind projects (South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind and Sunrise Wind).
As part of the agreement with Ørsted, Eversource will provide tax equity for the South Fork Wind project. Securing the tax equity arrangement is a critical milestone for South Fork Wind ahead of its plan to begin operations and delivering renewable energy later this year. Eversource will continue to support onshore scopes of all three projects through construction, ensuring the long-term continuity and success of the portfolio.
The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory review and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.
