U.K. utility Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE.LN) said yesterday it will sell a 50% stake in the Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm project later this year, according to a Dow Jones report on CNNMoney.com.
SSE earlier in the month agreed to buy out its 50-50 joint-venture partner in the project, U.S.-based Fluor Corp.
SSE’s Chief Executive Ian Marchant, said the company never intended to keep 100% ownership of the project and agreed to purchase Fluor’s stake in order to get the project underway.
"The only way to get the project delivered and to get the turbines and the equipment etc. was to take the 50%," Marchant said in a conference call.
"We’re now planning to sell it, but we still have the option to keep it if the board decides to do that," he added.
As planned, the Greater Gabbard project will be the largest off-shore wind farm in the world, upon completion. Projected cost for the 504-megawatt (MW) wind farm is GBP 3 billion.
New CO2 Reduction Target
SSE also announced it has set itself a target to reduce by 50% the amount of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity produced at power stations in which it has an ownership or contractual interest.
It is aiming to achieve the 50% reduction, to around 300g/kWh, by 2019/20. Based on SSE’s existing portfolio of assets and contracts and on typical electricity output, the target, if achieved, would mean there would be around 12 million tonnes fewer carbon dioxide emissions in 2019/20 compared with 2005/06. That was the first full year in which SSE owned coal-fired power stations at Fiddler’s Ferry and Ferrybridge and so is the base for the target.
SSE is the UK’s second largest generator of electricity and the largest generator from renewable sources. It owns around 10,500 MW of electricity generation capacity, including its share of joint ventures. This comprises: over 2,000 MW of hydro and wind capacity; around 4,500 MW of gas- and oil-fired capacity; and 4,000 MW of coal-fired capacity (with biomass ‘co-firing’ capability).
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