Vattenfall has sold three major offshore wind projects to rival RWE (ETR:RWE), including one for which plans were placed on hold in the summer over mounting costs.
Set to provide power for around four million homes, the wind farms had been at risk as Vattenfall pointed to increasing development costs but low guaranteed sale prices.
“[Thursday’s] agreement with RWE is great news for the UK’s energy security, ensuring the zone’s continued journey towards providing clean electricity,” Vattenfall chief executive Anna Borg commented.
Combined, the three farms will generate 4.2 gigawatts of electricity from off the coast of Norfolk.
These, known as Boreas, have been granted approval by the UK government and were previously promised a strike - guaranteed - price of £37.35 per megawatt hour for the electricity they will produce.
The government has since raised the the maximum price it is willing to promise developers from £44 per megawatt-hour to £73, following the latest auction for offshore wind projects which failed to attract any bids.
“Both the UK and the offshore market remain attractive over the long term,” Borg added.
“We will focus our offshore investments in projects which are appropriate to our current risk appetite while continuing to operate and grow our existing fleet of assets.”
This includes the development of a 0.8 gigawatt floating offshore wind farm in the North Sea.