Renewable energy company RWE has agreed to sell 51% stake in four onshore wind facilities in Texas, US to a subsidiary of Algonquin Power & Utilities for $600m.
The sale of the stake accounts for a total pro-rata installed capacity of 439MW. This translates to an implied enterprise value multiple of $1.4 million/MW.
The wind farms included in the transaction are Stella, Cranell and East and West Raymond. The projects have a total installed capacity of 861MW and are located in the coastal region of south Texas.
Of the projects included in the transaction, two are in operation and another two are under construction. RWE intends to utilise proceeds from the deal to finance further growth in the renewable energy business.
The Stella Wind Farm has a capacity of 201MW and was commissioned in December 2018. The Cranell Wind Farm has a capacity of 220MW and was commissioned in September this year.
The Raymond East wind farm has a capacity of 200MW and the Raymond West has a capacity of 240MW and are currently under construction. The wind farms are expected to be commissioned by the end of this year and in the first quarter of next year respectively.
RWE will continue to operate all four wind farms
After the closing of the transaction, RWE will continue to operate all the four wind farms.
The firm plans to expand its renewables portfolio to more than 13GW by 2022 with an investment of €5bn.
RWE plans to become carbon neutral by 2040 and sees the US market to play role in its strategy to grow renewables business. The company constructs, owns and operates wind, solar and energy storage projects in the US.
The company has 25 onshore wind farms in operation in the US and has about 1GW of onshore wind farms under construction. It is also working on the Hickory Park solar project with co-located storage.
In November, RWE has signed an agreement with Greencoat to sell a 49% stake in the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm in the UK.
