Copenhagen Fund Buys Offshore Wind Lease in U.S.

by Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg) Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners K/S acquired Offshore MW LLC, a U.S.-based company that owns an offshore wind energy lease by the east coast near Massachusetts.

The area is 675 square kilometers (261 square miles), the Danish investor said in a statement on its website. It bought 100 percent of the company on behalf of Copenhagen Infrastructure II K/S, a private equity fund it manages.

The lease was issued by the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and is one of the first steps for eligibility to participate in upcoming tenders for offshore wind. The U.S. plans to auction off permits to install 1.6 gigawatts of turbines in the ocean by 2027, with the first round expected for mid-2017.

“CIP is no stranger to offshore wind having previously invested in both the U.K. and German offshore markets,” said Keegan Kruger, wind analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “This M&A deal between CIP and Offshore MW LCC sees the first European infrastructure type investor to back offshore wind in the US. The North Sea market is still the hub for offshore development and investment but the appetite for new markets is clearly there and one feels as if the party is about to start.”

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners did not immediately reply to questions about the value of the transaction and financing details.

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