2 minute read | July.21.2023
The Transaction
Orrick has advised a joint venture owned by Ørsted (50%) and AXA Investment Managers (AXA) and Crédit Agricole Assurances (CAA) (jointly 50%) on its GBP1.141 billion sale of the transmission assets of the 1.3GW Hornsea Two offshore windfarm to Diamond Transmission Partners, a consortium of HICL Infrastructure PLC and Diamond Transmission Corporation Limited.
Orrick also advised Ørsted on the operations and maintenance services for the transmission assets to be provided under a long-term agreement.
The Orrick team has a long-standing relationship with Ørsted having advised them on a number of offshore transmission asset disposals, including Hornsea One.
The Impact
Hornsea Two is an offshore wind farm in the UK, located approximately 90 km off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea. The wind farm consists of 165 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines with an overall capacity of 1,320 MW, enough to power more than 1.4 million British homes. The transmission assets include the onshore substation, export cables, the offshore reactive compensation substation (RCS) and offshore substation.
The divestment took place in accordance with the offshore transmission owner (OFTO) regime (Tender Round 8), with Diamond Transmission Partners selected by Ofgem, following a competitive tender.
The Team
Orrick’s Ravinder Sandhu led a multidisciplinary advising Ørsted and AXA/CAA that also included Simon Alsey, Simon Folley, Jonathan Rosen, Craig Bruce, Craig Johnston, Rebecca Grevitt, Andrew Holland and Junaid O’Balogun.
Ravinder commented, "Following on from our role advising on Hornsea One, we are honoured to be trusted by Ørsted and AXA and CAA to advise on Hornsea Two – the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and a significant renewable energy project,” she said.