TNB ventures into UK with offshore wind farm company stake buy

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) has acquired a 49% stake in Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Ltd (BODL), an offshore wind farm company in the UK, from EDF Renewables (EDFR), a subsidiary of French utility company Électricité de France (EDF).

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 20), the national power company said the acquisition was done via its wholly-owned subsidiary Vantage RE Ltd and marked TNB’s maiden entry into the international offshore wind market as BODL currently owns offshore wind assets off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, England.

“The assets include five turbines with a total installed capacity of 41.5MW (Blyth 1) and further development rights for a floating offshore wind project of up to 58.4MW (Blyth 2) located off the Northumberland coast.

“The five 8.3MW turbines of Blyth 1 are installed with gravity-based foundations, which use a concrete load to keep the turbines securely in place without penetrating the seabed. 

“The wind farm has been in operation since 2017 under the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) subsidy regime that is expected to provide stable revenues. Blyth 2 is an innovative floating offshore wind project currently in the early stage of development,” it said. 

Meanwhile, TNB president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Baharin Din said the landmark acquisition is one of the planned strategic acquisitions for TNB to accelerate its journey in delivering on its global environmental, social and governance (ESG) vision.

He added that the group recently announced its Sustainability Pathway, a blueprint with an aspiration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and also aiming to reduce 35% of TNB’s emissions intensity as well as 50% of its coal generation capacity by 2035.

“We believe this partnership will give us an edge in an increasingly competitive industry as we look to rapidly scale up our global RE portfolio and strengthen our position in the future energy landscape

“It not only sets the pace for Vantage RE to grow in the UK and Europe, but also provides a solid pathway for TNB to accelerate its ambition to be a leading provider of sustainable energy solutions.

“Involvement in the UK offshore wind sector will allow TNB to capitalise on the vast experience of the existing Vantage RE management, broaden its technology know-how and provide further capability and talent development within the group,” Baharin said. 

On the other hand, EDFR group senior executive vice president renewable energies chairman and CEO Bruno Bensasson said the group is committed to contributing to the sector's technological evolution and competitiveness and highlighted it is pleased to seal the partnership with TNB. 

“TNB and EDF share the same ambition to contribute to a low carbon society. Therefore, beyond this first partnership, we envisage further cooperation on low carbon electricity generation in the European continent, as Blyth, and in Asia,” he said. 

At noon break on Wednesday, shares in TNB ended one sen or 0.1% higher to RM9.83, giving it a market value of RM56.29 billion. It saw 1.99 million shares changing hands. 

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