CIP and Avangrid Renewables to restructure wind energy JV
Published by Bella Weetch,
Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,
CIP and Avangrid Renewables have come to an agreement to restructure the companies’ US offshore wind joint venture (JV) by swapping ownership of the jointly owned assets. CIP will become the 100% owner of the federal lease area OCS-A 522, which can accommodate up to 2500 MW of offshore wind power.
The restructuring will allow CIP and Avangrid Renewables to focus on the companies’ own expansion plans in the US offshore wind market and better align project timelines with the sponsors’ strategic objectives.
CIP successfully entered the US offshore wind market in 2016 and decisively moved forward with developing the 800 MW Vineyard Wind 1 project, which achieved financial close in September 2021. Since 2016, CIP has co-led the development of all projects within the US offshore wind JV and will also co-lead the construction phase of the Vineyard Wind 1 project, delivering one of the first commercial scale projects in the US.
Following the restructuring, CIP will become the 100% owner of lease area OCS-A 522, which can accommodate up to 2500 MW of offshore wind power, and Avangrid Renewables will become the 100% owner of lease area OCS-A 534, containing the 804 MW Park City Wind project and the prospective 1200 MW Commonwealth Wind project. Given the more advanced development status of Park City Wind and Commonwealth Wind, CIP will also receive a net payment of US$167.5 million by Avangrid Renewables at closing, expected in the next six months.
The US offshore wind market is set to reach 30 GW of capacity by 2030 and via lease area OCS-A 0522, CIP will be able to deliver a significant amount of offshore wind capacity to the US power grid, allowing the individual states and the federal government to reach their respective renewable energy targets. Lease area 522 has one of the highest wind resources of any federal lease area in the US and has strong fundamentals to compete for power contracts. Showcasing the strategic value of the site, projects in the lease area will be able to deliver clean energy from New York to Massachusetts. Overall, the lease area will require an investment of more than US$10 billion and create thousands of local jobs over the course of the projects’ lifetime.
CIP will also be looking to secure more offshore wind capacity through the upcoming lease auctions to be held by BOEM in the New York Bight area and California.
For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.
Energy Global's Summer 2021 issue
The Summer issue of Energy Global features a varied spectrum of in-depth technical articles detailing recent projects, future projections, and technological advancements in the renewables sector, from companies including CEWEP, Enel Green Power, Turboden S.p.A., Cornwall Insight, and more.
Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/22092021/cip-and-avangrid-renewables-to-restructure-wind-energy-jv/
You might also like
Solaria signs a 175 MW financing agreement with Banco Sabadell
Solaria has reached an agreement in principle with Banco Sabadell for the long-term financing of 175 MW.