Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), responsible for the investments of the country’s Government Pension Fund Global, has signed an agreement to acquire a 50 per cent stake in an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands for €1,375m.

The agreement was signed on 7 April and will see NBIM acquire the stake in Borssele 1 & 2, from Ørsted A/S, which will be NBIM’s co-owner with the remaining 50 per cent stake. No external debt financing will be involved in the transaction.

“We are excited to have made our first investment in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure and pleased to partner with Ørsted as the market leader in offshore wind. Borssele 1 & 2 is a high-quality offshore wind asset, and the acquisition is in line with our strategy to build a high-quality portfolio of wind and solar power generation assets.

“The unlisted renewable energy infrastructure strategy supplements our existing unlisted real estate portfolio well, and we draw on our long experience with direct investments,” NBIM chief real assets officer, Mie Holstad, said.

The offshore wind farm has an installed capacity of 752 MW and produces energy equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of around one million Dutch households.

NBIM CEO, Nicolai Tangen, added that unlisted renewable energy infrastructure is a new asset class for the fund, which it is investing in to improve the overall diversification of the fund.

“We look forward to continuing to execute on our investment strategy for unlisted renewable energy infrastructure,” he said.

The offshore wind farm was fully commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2020. It is the largest operational offshore wind farm in the Netherlands – and the second largest operational offshore wind farm in the world.

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