SSE agrees deal on windfarm

Utility giant SSE has agreed to sell a further stake in a vast Scottish wind farm site that has a combined generating capacity of 350 megawatts.

Clyde Windfarm (Scotland) encompasses the Clyde North, Clyde South and Clyde Central wind farms in South Lanarkshire. An extension comprises 54 turbines with a total capacity of 173 megawatts.

In March 2016, Perth-based SSE announced the initial sale of Clyde equating to 49.9 per cent of the existing operational wind farm. At the time, it emerged that when the commercial operation of the 173MW extension began, the equity stake in Clyde jointly owned by Greencoat UK Wind and GLIL Infrastructure would be diluted to 30 per cent with SSE retaining 70 per cent.

Under the new agreement outlined yesterday, Greencoat and GLIL will acquire an additional 5 per cent of Clyde, equating to some 26.1MW, for a cash consideration of £67.8 million, before costs, taking their share of the total Clyde development to 35 per cent.

Greencoat and GLIL also have the option to buy a further 14.9 per cent of Clyde for £202.2m, before costs. This can be exercised next year, between 1 April and 30 June. Martin Pibworth, SSE’S managing director wholesale, said: “Both the original Clyde wind farm and the recent extension are complex projects, requiring major investment and a great deal of effort to deliver such efficient assets.

“The sale of a further stake in Clyde [to Greencoat and GLIL] is a natural step in our partnership with them and our commitment to recycle capital where we can see value for SSE.”

Stephen Lilley of Greencoat Capital added: “We’ve been really pleased with the performance of our Clyde investment over the last 15 months.”