Pinsent Masons advised Statkraft on landmark offshore wind partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

Pinsent Masons advised Statkraft on landmark offshore wind partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

London-based multinational law firm Pinsent Masons have advised the Norwegian renewal energy giant Statkraft on the sale of a 50 per cent stake in their Irish offshore wind portfolio to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners' fund, Copenhagen Infrastructure IV K/S as part of its plans of developing up to 2.2 gigawatts of offshore wind in Ireland.

The partnership consists of the enlargement of offshore wind development projects North Irish Sea Array (NISA), located in the Irish Sea off the coast of counties Dublin, Louth and Meath, and Bore Array in the Celtic Sea.

The investment by Statkraft and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners in the projects, which involves development and construction, is expected to exceed €4 billion by 2030.

The Pinsent Masons team acting on the transaction was led by Senior Associate Sarah Hope and Partners Richard Murphy and Oisin McLoughlin in the firm's Ireland Energy practice. Their advice included a range of specialist counsel and experience in offshore wind from several offices across the UK and Germany.

"This partnership is a significant development for Ireland's renewable energy market. Bringing two leading renewable energy developers together provides huge opportunity in terms of the scale of offshore wind energy production that can be provided to the Irish population. The portfolio under the partnership includes the North Irish Sea Array project which is one of the seven 'Relevant Projects', which are the first phase of projects intended to assist Ireland in meeting its target of 7 GW of offshore wind energy by 2030," said Sarah Hope while commenting on the deal.

"Our energy practice has now advised on transactions involving three of the seven 'Relevant Projects' for offshore wind, having previously advised EDF on the acquisition of a 50 per cent interest in Codling Wind Park I and II," she added.

One of Europe's largest generators of renewable energy, Statkraft entered the Irish energy market in 2018. Since then it has tripled both its workforce and the development portfolio.

A leading player in the Irish renewable energy market, Statkraft develops, owns, and operates renewable energy projects across the technologies of onshore wind, offshore wind, solar, battery storage, and grid services.