SSE Renewables jumps into Japanese offshore wind with $208m stake
SSE Renewables has jumped into Japan’s offshore wind farm market with a $208m joint venture with local renewables company Pacifico Energy.
The alliance will see the energy firm’s develop offshore wind energy projects in Japan, as the country seeks to become net-zero by 2050.
SSE shares dipped 0.5 per cent to 1,586.5p in its afternoon trading.
London-listed SSE is set to snap up an 80 per cent stake in Pacifico’s wind development platform, worth a little over $200m, which will bring around 10GW of existing offshore wind projects under SSE Renewable’s wing.
The deal should also bring the British energy giant closer to it’s achieving its goal of delivering 30TWh per year by 2030.
Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Laura Hoy, said that the freshly inked deal shows that SSE’s renewables business is “making strides” toward its sustainable energy goal.
“The new organisation will operate in Japan’s offshore wind market and will start its life with 10GW worth of early-stage development projects in its portfolio.
“It’s costing SSE’s Renewables division a pretty penny though at $208m, but that’s a drop in the ocean for the wider company, which brought in profits worth £1.5bn last year. However, it does represent nearly a quarter of the Renewables segment’s profits and operating in Japan is a major strategic shift.”
The deal is not likely to send SSE’s profit’s flying, Hoy explained, though it signals an important step in building out its renewables business – “suggesting the group is increasingly focussed on a future as a global renewables giant rather than a UK utility operator,” she said.