Dong Energy has signed an agreement to sell its onshore wind energy business in Denmark to Danish energy company SE and the Danish pension fund PFA.
The DKK760 million (€102 million) sale is part of Dong’s strategy to divest non-core assets with a total value of DKK10 billion in 2013-2014. It comprises a total of 272 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 196 MW.
It also includes an early stage development project of 23 MW, says Dong, which has also signed an agreement with a Finnish consortium to sell its stake in Swedish hydropower company Kraftgården AB.
Dong’s onshore wind farms in Denmark are situated in 80 different locations and have an average operational track record of 16 years. The company says that it will focus in the future on offshore wind energy projects.
"With the agreement to divest our Danish onshore wind business, we are taking a further step towards the realisation of our strategy and financial action plan. Going forward our competences and capital will be deployed in offshore wind where we have a strong and differentiated competitive platform," said Henrik Poulsen, CEO of DONG Energy.
Voimapiha AB, a consortium of Finnish energy companies Kymppivoima, EPV Energy and Helsingin Energia, has agreed to pay SEK5.2 billion (€605 million) for Dong’s 25.7 per cent stake in Kraftgården.
Kraftgården owns and operates seven hydro power plants along the Swedish river Indalsälven with a total capacity of 626 MW.
The ownership interest in Kraftgården was Dong Energy’s sole remaining activity within hydropower.
Dong Energy plans to make net investments of DKK30 billion in the course of 2013 and 2014. The investments will primarily be made in offshore wind farms, where the company has a target of quadrupling its capacity from 1.7 GW to 6.5 GW in 2020, and in oil and gas production.