Energy industry giant EDF Renewables UK has sold three onshore wind farms in Scotland to Vantage RE.
The projects sold include the 25.8MW Camilty site, a six-turbine site in West Lothian; Shelloch, a five-turbine, 25.3MW development in Fintry, Stirlingshire and Troston; and a 67.2MW, 14-turbine site in Dumfries and Galloway, which have all received planning consent.
The value of the sale has not yet been disclosed, but the two firms have a history of working together, so the 118.3MW transaction is not unexpected.
EDF and Vantage RE already have a joint venture called the Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Limited in the northeast of England and the proposed Blyth 2 floating offshore project.
Jon O’Sullivan, director of onshore for EDF Renewables UK, said: “We have ambitious plans and a large pipeline of projects across several technologies to accelerate the country’s net zero ambitions and tackle climate change. As a business, we review our portfolio on a regular basis. This sale will allow us to focus our efforts on other projects in the pipeline, including some at an earlier stage of development in the UK.”
Vian Davys, chief executive of Vantage RE Ltd, added: “This is an important and exciting step forward in our plans. These wind farm projects complement our existing portfolio of renewable energy in the UK and Ireland. As well as providing clean, renewable energy from the Scottish wind, we want to secure a genuine community benefit for those living near our sites.”
EDF’s onshore investment
EDF Renewables UK has been a flagship company on the UK’s road to net zero. In September 2023, the firm announced its plans to spend £4.5 billion in 2023 on UK infrastructure and £5 billion in 2024.
The announcement came as part of EDF’s annual update, which also detailed its £50 billion scheme to help build and sustain net zero infrastructure in the UK.
The UK has installed more than 14GW of onshore wind energy already and has a pipeline of planned projects totalling 23GW.
As revealed in data compiled by Solar Media Market Research, Q2 2023 saw a record-breaking capacity of 1.5GW across just 18 sites submitted into planning. The largest planned project is the 525 MW Scoop Hill Community Wind Farm, developed by Community Windpower and submitted during Q4 2020.