First major offshore wind farm acquisition
Total | Firth of Forth, Scotland
Project description
Total acquired a majority stake in the £3 billion Seagreen 1 offshore wind farm project from SSE Renewables. Seagreen will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm at 1,140 MW.
Located 27 kilometres from the coastline in Scottish waters of UK North Sea, Seagreen 1 has secured all necessary major permits and onshore construction began in Q1 2020. Designed to cover the energy needs of approximately one million UK homes, the project will start producing renewable electricity from the end of 2022.
Scope of work
Norton Rose Fulbright advised Total on all aspects of the acquisition, including the joint venture arrangements with SSE for the construction and operation of the project, due diligence, tax, regulatory matters and merger control.
What makes the project unique
As its first large investment in the offshore wind sector, this is a major change of scale for Total’s offshore wind activity. In 2020 Total announced an ambition to get to net-zero emissions by 2050. Total’s focus on renewable energy worldwide underlines the wider trend among energy majors to develop renewable energy businesses as part of the energy transition.