EDP Renewables (EDPR) and Engie have formed a 50:50 joint venture (JV) targeting offshore wind, having first announced their plans for the partnership last year. The two companies have named their offshore wind joint venture Ocean Winds and have made the Spanish capital of Madrid the global headquarters of the new developer. Ocean Winds will act as the companies’ exclusive investment vehicle to capture offshore wind energy opportunities worldwide.
The joint venture, set up in 2019, has pooled each partners’ existing and pipeline offshore portfolio that includes a total of 1.5 GW under construction and 4 GW under development. Ocean Wind has also set a target of reaching 5-7 GW of projects in operation, or under construction, and 5-10 GW under advanced development by 2025. The company is targeting markets in Europe, the US and parts of Asia and will develop fixed bottom and floating offshore wind projects.
In a press release, Ocean Winds’ chief executive Spyros Martinis said, “Ocean Winds has been created with the intention of combining the experience and knowledge of two companies with a successful track record in the generation of renewable energy under one single firm, in order to take a leading position in the marine wind sector.”
“We share a vision for the key role of renewables in general, and offshore in particular, in the new energy model. The creation of a company combining the experience and resources of both will give us the chance to lead a sector in this increasingly real and necessary transition.”
Ocean Wind plans to have over 200 employees at the time of its launch and expects to reach 300 towards the end of 2020.
REGlobal’s Views: With this move, the European power giants have created one of the world’s biggest offshore wind development companies. The time is right as the offshore wind sector is set to grow very significantly by 2030. The JV will put the companies into closer competition with Denmark’s Ørsted, the leading global offshore wind developer.
