Japanese energy company Inpex has announced the acquisition of a 16.7% stake in the operating 950MW Moray East offshore wind farm in Scotland for an undisclosed price.
The stake acquisition was executed by the company’s subsidiary Inpex Renewable Energy Europe, which signed an agreement with Diamond Generating Europe (DGE), a UK subsidiary of Mitsubishi.
Inpex Renewable Energy Europe was formed by the Japanese company in the UK to promote its renewable energy business in Europe.
Located about 22km off the Moray East coast, the Moray East offshore wind farm commenced commercial operations in April 2022.
The Scottish offshore wind project is owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture (JV) between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, with a stake of 56.6%. Its other owners include China Three Gorges with a 10% stake and Mitsubishi’s Diamond Green, which now holds a reduced stake of 16.7% stake.
Diamond Green is an intermediate holding company invested in by Diamond Generating Europe Investments (DGI).
Spread over an area of 295km², the Moray East offshore wind farm features 100 Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines. The final offshore wind turbine at the wind facility was installed in September 2021.
The electricity produced at the Scottish offshore facility is equivalent to the average power consumption of about 950,000 UK households.
First power from the Scottish offshore facility was exported to the national grid through its substation south of New Deer in Aberdeenshire in June 2021.
Inpex said that it intends to improve and focus on its renewable energy initiatives and expects to expedite efforts aimed at its offshore wind power generation business.
Last year, the Japanese company acquired a 50% stake in the Luchterduinen offshore wind farm and a 15% stake in the Borssele III/IV offshore wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands from DGE.
