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Ørsted to Acquire Eversource Share of Uncontracted Offshore Wind Seabed

Ørsted to fully own seabed with up to 4 GW of capacity and fully own strategic O&M contracts. Acquisition further strengthens Ørsted’s offshore wind energy position in the US Northeast.

May 26, 2023. By News Bureau

Ørsted has signed an agreement to acquire Eversource Energy’s 50 % interest in the uncontracted federal offshore wind lease area currently owned jointly by the two companies.

In addition to the seabed, which is in early-stage development, the agreement also includes contracts and partnerships for key operational assets in the US Northeast.

The USD 625 million agreement further strengthens Ørsted’s leading position in US offshore wind energy and demonstrates the company’s commitment to building an American offshore wind industry, including a supply chain that creates jobs across the United States and drives innovation for the global market.

The lease area, identified as Lease Area OCS-A 500 (Lease 500), contains approximately 187,000 acres of uncontracted seabed for offshore wind energy and has a potential capacity of up to 4 GW. As part of this agreement, Ørsted will acquire contracts and leases for strategic port facilities and other assets.

Ørsted will take full ownership of partnerships with the Port of Providence, the Port of Davisville, and Quonset Point, all in Rhode Island, and with Connecticut's New London State Pier. Ørsted will also take full ownership of the operations and maintenance hub in East Setauket, New York, and the charter agreement for the first American-built offshore wind service operation vessel, which is under construction at Edison Chouest’s facility in Houma, Louisiana, and is more than 50 % complete.

“I want to thank Eversource for our six-year partnership and for their expertise that has strategically advanced the onshore scopes of our three projects, which will deliver renewable energy to Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York,” said David Hardy, Executive Vice President and CEO of Region Americas at Ørsted. “This acquisition further demonstrates our long-term commitment to building an American offshore wind energy industry and the value creation opportunities we see in the US market. In addition to taking full ownership of seabed that is familiar to our team after years of work in this area, we will also be the sole bidder in our New York 3 and Rhode Island 2 active offshore wind solicitations. The combination of the seabed and additional components in this agreement further establish a major hub in the Northeast for our activities and future opportunities.”

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