US-based financial investor Blackstone sold its 80 percent share of the windfarm “Meerwind Südost” in the German North Sea to China Three Gorges.
While German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in China, the involved parties signed a relevant agreement in the presence of Chinese premier Li Keqiang. The Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH still holds the remaining shares of 20 percent and will continue to be responsible for the management of the wind park. “We look forward to working together with China Three Gorges, with whom we share a strong commitment to developing and operating renewable energy projects globally”, Jens Assheuer, team leader of the management team of Windland announced.
The offshore wind park consists of 80 wind turbines and is situated off the island of Helgoland. Since the beginning of 2015 it is fully operational, has a capacity of 288 MW and can generate electricity for roughly 360,000 households. The acquisition price was said to be 1.6 billion Euro, 300 million Euro higher than the costs of construction.
Actually, China Three Gorges is engaged in the European energy sector since some time already. The operator of the world’s largest hydropower plant with 22.5 GW acquired 21 percent of Portugal’s largest energy company Energias de Portugal SA (EDP) in 2011. In addition, the company holds shares of the wind park developer Moray Offshore Renewables from Scotland since October 2015. At the end of 2015, the power plant portfolio of the Chinese state-owned enterprise consists of roughly 60 GW hydropower and 6 GW wind and solar power plants. Projects with a capacity of 35 GW are currently also in the pipeline.
