Ørsted Finds Land Legs

Ørsted has entered into an agreement with global infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital and management shareholders to acquire a 100% equity interest in Lincoln Clean Energy LLC (LCE), a US-based developer, owner and operator of onshore wind farms.

Ørsted placed an enterprise valuation on LCE amounting to USD 580 million, with the transaction subject to approval by the US competition authorities.

Once the acquisition is finalized by the end of the year, the business will act as a separate unit outside of Ørsted’s Wind Power business and will continue to be managed by LCE’s existing management.

“The global market for onshore wind power is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, and the US is a leading onshore wind market,” said Henrik Poulsen, CEO of Ørsted.

“The acquisition of Lincoln Clean Energy will provide a strong growth platform in the US, which is one of Ørsted’s strategic growth markets. It is an investment case with healthy economics based on prudent assumptions about key value drivers and market developments.” 

LCE’s portfolio includes 513MW of recently commissioned projects, 300MW under construction, and more than 1.5GW to be completed by 2022. According to CEO Declan Flanagan, the transaction will enhance the company’s project execution and growth trajectory.

Although Ørsted, at the time DONG Energy, divested the last of its onshore wind activities back in 2014 to focus on offshore wind, the company announced earlier this year the plans to invest in other renewable energy technologies in order to reinforce its position in renewable energy and create additional value for the shareholders.

In the US, the Danish company currently has three offshore wind projects in the pipeline, including Bay State Wind in Massachusetts, Ocean Wind in New Jersey, and Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) in Virginia.