Danish offshore wind developer Ørsted has agreed to sell a 50 percent stake in its 605 MW Greater Changhua 1 offshore wind farm in Taiwan to a consortium comprising Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and Taiwanese private equity fund Cathay PE.
CDPQ will be the majority owner among the two new partners, Ørsted said Monday.
The Greater Changhua 1 site is part of the 900 MW Greater Changhua 1 & 2a Offshore Wind Farm, which Ørsted is currently constructing and expects to finalize in 2022.
The total sales price for the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm comprises the acquisition of a 50 % ownership share and the commitment from the partners to fund 50% of the payments under the EPC contract for the wind farm which includes both the generation and transmission assets. The total value of the transaction is approximately TWD 75 billion - around DKK 16 billion (USD 3.63 billion) which is to be paid during 2021 and 2022.
As part of the agreement, Ørsted will build the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm under a full-scope EPC contract. Ørsted will also provide long-term operations and maintenance (O&M) services from its O&M base at the Port of Taichung.
Martin Neubert, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ørsted Offshore, says: “I’m delighted to welcome our long-term partner CDPQ and Cathay PE in Greater Changhua 1. It’s encouraging to once again see institutional investors playing an important role in the transition to renewable energy and low-emission economies. Today’s announcement also marks a milestone in successfully applying our partnership farm-down model in Asia-Pacific for the first time.”
Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure, CDPQ, says: “This investment in Taiwan, which represents an attractive market for CDPQ, allows us to further diversify our presence in Asia. As an investor with vast experience in renewable energy, we seek this kind of greenfield opportunity to contribute to the transition toward a low‑carbon economy. Working alongside our long-term partner, Ørsted, and experienced local investor, Cathay PE, we are proud to support the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm project, which will supply clean power to over 650,000 Taiwanese families.”
The investors’ 50 % stake in Greater Changhua 1 will be funded through a combination of equity and senior long-term debt facilities from 15 international and Taiwanese banks and 2 Taiwanese life insurance companies as well as 5 export credit agencies providing lending and guarantees.
Greater Changhua 1 & 2a will be located 35-60 kilometers off the coast of Changhua County. With a total capacity of 900 MW, Greater Changhua 1 & 2a will be able to supply around 1 million Taiwanese households with electricity.
The Greater Changhua 2b & 4 projects are to be built in 2025, subject to grid availability and Ørsted taking final investment decision on the projects in 2023.
Ørsted is also the co-owner of Taiwan's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, Formosa 1, which was extended from a capacity of 8 MW to 128 MW in 2019.