Sustainability

Mubadala buys stake in German offshore wind power giant

October 19, 2022, 9:44 AM

Deal bolsters rapidly growing clean and sustainable energy portfolio
Skyborn Renewables has wind projects in Germany and France

Mubadala Investment Company has announced the acquisition of a stake in Skyborn Renewables, the world’s largest private offshore wind developer.

The deal by the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, which manages a global portfolio of assets valued at $284 billion, bolsters its rapidly growing clean and sustainable energy portfolio.

Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) also has a stake in the deal.

In April Mubadala was part of a BlackRock Real Assets-led consortium which agreed to invest $525 million into the renewable energy arm of India’s Tata Power.

The latest acquisition of a 100 percent interest in Skyborn Renewables provides GIP and co-investors, including Mubadala, with access to the largest private offshore wind developer globally.

Headquartered in Bremen, Germany, Skyborn Renewables has an offshore wind track record of more than 7gw developed to date, and a portfolio of operating and under-construction projects in Germany, France, and Taiwan.

The group currently has a 30gw pipeline of diversified offshore wind projects in various stages of development.

The investment by Mubadala also includes the acquisition of a stake in GIP’s 50 percent interest in NY Bight Project called Bluepoint Wind, a 1.6GW offshore project in the US.

Offshore wind is expected to be one of the fastest growing renewable energy sectors over the next 15 years, with the current 27gw installed capacity set to grow to 290gw by 2035. Growth of the offshore wind market is expected to require annual investments of $50 billion.

“Offshore wind is one of the most attractive and fastest growing segments within renewables, with the sector expected to grow 10-fold in the next decade,” Khaled Abdulla Al Qubaisi, CEO of real estate and infrastructure investments at Mubadala, said.

“Wind energy is an important component of the transition to clean, renewable power and as a responsible investor, we at Mubadala are proud to be a part of a consortium that is playing a leading role in addressing the global challenges of the climate crisis and energy security.”

The deal deepens the clean energy bond between Abu Dhabi and Germany. Earlier this month, Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and Germany’s Siemens Energy AG joined forces to accelerate the UAE’s goal to become net zero.

Under the partnership, Siemens Energy will receive support to set up its Middle East Innovation Centre in the UAE capital, as part of ADIO’s $545 million innovation programme.

The innovation centre will contribute to the UAE’s goals of generating 50GW of renewable energy by 2050.

Skyborn Renewables was rebranded in September after previously operating as wpd offshore.