Inpex, a Japanese energy company, has recently announced the acquisition of a 16.7% stake in the Moray East offshore wind farm in Scotland. The operating wind farm has a capacity of 950MW and is owned by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, with a majority stake of 56.6%. Inpex's acquisition was executed by its subsidiary, Inpex Renewable Energy Europe, which signed an agreement with Diamond Generating Europe (DGE), a UK subsidiary of Mitsubishi.
Inpex Renewable Energy Europe was established by the Japanese company in the UK to promote its renewable energy business in Europe. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.
The Moray East offshore wind farm is situated approximately 22km off the Moray East coast and commenced commercial operations in April 2022. Spread over an area of 295km², the wind farm consists of 100 Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines. The final turbine was installed in September 2021, and the wind farm has the capacity to produce enough electricity to power approximately 950,000 UK households.
Inpex intends to improve and concentrate on its renewable energy initiatives and has expressed its plans to expedite its efforts aimed at its offshore wind power generation business.
In 2022, the Japanese company also acquired a 50% stake in the Luchterduinen offshore wind farm and a 15% stake in the Borssele III/IV offshore wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands from DGE.
