Ørsted enters European onshore market with purchase of €570m Brookfield
Danish energy giant Ørsted has today made its first foray into the European onshore wind market with the acquisition of Brookfield Renewable Ireland (BRI).
The Irish firm, which has a portfolio of 389 megawatts of capacity either fully developed or under construction, is valued at €571m (£497.5m).
It also has a further 1 gigawatt of generation capacity under development across the UK and Ireland.
Up to this point Ørsted, one of the world’s leading offshore wind firms, has concentrated its onshore operations in the US.
With 4 gigawatts of capacity currently under development across the Atlantic, the firm has now turned its attention back to its home markets.
Chief executive Mads Nipper said: “The European market for onshore wind power is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and with the acquisition of BRI, we get a strong platform that expands our presence in onshore renewables to Europe, allowing us to continue our successful expansion of our onshore renewables business.”
BRI’s existing management team will continue to run the business which will be integrated into Ørsted’s Onshore business unit over time, the firm said.
The transaction is expected to close by the second quarter of 2021.