TotalEnergies weighs buying 20% stake in Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm – report

TotalEnergies is considering acquiring a stake in what would become part of the world’s largest offshore wind cluster, according to media reports.

It is believed to be in talks with SSE and Equinor regarding an up to 20% stake in the 1200MW Dogger Bank C Dogger Bank C (1200MW) Offshoreoff Yorkshire, UK, Europe Click to see full details wind farm, according to news agency Bloomberg.

Deliberations are reportedly ongoing, but no final decisions have been taken on the size of any stake.

An SSE spokesman told Windpower Monthly that it does not comment on speculation, but added that it planned to divest a 20% stake in Dogger Bank C this calendar year. Equinor and Total Energies both declined to comment.

French oil major Total rebranded as TotalEnergies earlier this year, reflecting its planned transformation into a “broad energy company”. The lion’s share of its investments this decade will still be in fossil fuels, critics have noted.

TotalEnergies aims to increase its gross renewables capacity to 100GW by 2030 – up from 7GW today.

However, in targeting offshore wind, the company believes it can draw on its experience in offshore oil and gas operations and maintenance. Moreover, it sees offshore wind as a sector that is less constrained by limitations on turbine size and challenges over public acceptance.

Last year, TotalEnergies bought into the 1075MW Seagreen 1 Seagreen 1 (1075MW) OffshoreFirth of Forth, UK, Europe Click to see full details project: another UK offshore wind farm being developed by SSE. It will pay SSE an initial £70 million (€78.5 million) for a majority stake in the project, with a further £60 million to be paid from earnings. 

Meanwhile, SSE and Equinor sold a 20% stake in Dogger Bank’s first two phases – 2400MW Dogger Bank A & B Dogger Bank A & B (2400MW) Offshoreoff Yorkshire, UK, Europe Click to see full details – to Italian oil company Eni, with the deal closing earlier this year.