Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the manager of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund – often referred to as the Oil Fund – worth over $1.75trn, has bought a 49% stake in two offshore wind projects from German utility RWE.
The fund bought stakes in the Nordseecluster and Thor offshore wind projects currently under construction. The agreed purchase price is approximately €1.4bn ($1.5bn).
RWE remains in charge of construction and operations throughout the lifecycle of these offshore wind farms. The closing of the transaction is expected by the beginning of the third quarter of 2025.
The Nordseecluster, located approximately 50 km north of the island of Juist, is being built in two phases. The first phase or Nordseecluster A has a 660MW capacity and will be fully commissioned in 2027. The second phase or Nordseecluster B has a 900MW capacity and will be operational in 2029.
In total, Nordseecluster will generate enough green electricity to supply the equivalent of 1.6m German households.
The Thor wind farm is Denmark’s largest offshore wind farm to date and is located approximately 22 km off the west coast of Jutland. Full commissioning is planned for 2027. With a total capacity of 1,080MW, it will be able to produce enough electricity to supply more than 1m Danish households.
The projects will have long-term contracted revenues that provide stable cash flows and reduce risk to the projects.
RWE currently operates 19 offshore wind farms and, in addition to Nordseecluster and Thor, it is constructing the Sofia offshore wind farm off the coast of England and OranjeWind off the coast of the Netherlands.
