Eni pushes the accelerator on renewables. Thanks to the agreement with Equinor e SSE Renewables for the acquisition of a 20% stake in the project Dogger Bank C 1.2GW, the third phase of the largest offshore wind farm in the world currently under construction. The group led by Claudio Descalzi will acquire the asset following the achievement of the project financing expected by the end of 2021. While the closing of the transaction is expected in the first quarter of 2022, subject to the authorizations of the competent Authorities.
With Eni's entry into the project, the new shareholding structure for all three phases (i.e. A, B and C) will be composed of SSE Renewables (40%), Equinor (40%) and Eni (20%). Eni thus adds 240 MW of renewable energy to its goal of developing over 6 GW of renewable capacity by 2025.
In detail, the project in question is the third phase of the largest offshore wind farm in the world with a total of 3,6 GW currently under construction. Production will start in phases, the first phase in 2023 and the other two in 2024 and 2025 respectively. Once construction is complete, Dogger Bank will generate approximately 18 TWh of renewable energy per year, a capacity “equal to 5% of the demand of the whole of the United Kingdom and equivalent to the consumption of about 6 million British families”, reads a note.
“Through this important transaction we continue to accelerate our growth strategy in renewable energy, as well as strengthen our presence in the Northern European offshore wind market, one of the most promising and stable in the world – Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Eni, commented -. This is a new capability that further enhances and expands our company's portfolio that integrates renewables and retail, a fundamental strategic lever for the decarbonisation of emissions related to the use of our products by our customers. It is therefore a new concrete step in our path of complete abatement of the net emissions of industrial processes and products".
But that is not all. In 2021, Eni integrated renewable activities with retail ones, combining the growing green energy generation capacity with the expansion of its customer base. In this context, as at 30 September 2021 the installed capacity from renewable sources amounted to 834 MW, almost tripled compared to 31 December 2020 (307 MW).
With regard to the listing of the business that integrates the gas&power retail activities, the production of energy from renewables and the network of charging points for electric vehicles, the company has set itself the goal of "completing the transaction by 2022" and that further details on the initiative, including the name of the new company, will be communicated during the capital markets day scheduled for 22 November next.
