FREDERICIA, Denmark, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Danish wind energy developer DONG Energy said it took ownership of the Race Bank wind project planned for the British coast from energy company Centrica.
DONG Energy said it acquired a 100 percent interest in a project designed to generate 580 megawatts of wind power from Centrica in a deal valued at $81.8 million.
Samuel Leupold, a vice president in charge of wind power projects for DONG Energy, said Race Bank would help his company meet its target of building 6,500 MW of wind energy projects by 2020.
"The addition of up to 580 MW to our U.K. project portfolio underlines our commitment to the U.K. market in general, and to the U.K. offshore wind sector in particular," he said in a statement Thursday.
DONG Energy said a final decision to build the project depends on its successful development under the new ownership. Construction about 17 miles off the Norfolk coast could begin in 2017.
"This transaction marks the next step in the development of the Race Bank wind farm and we are pleased that the project will continue to progress towards a final investment decision," Mark Hanafin, managing director of Centrica Energy, said in a separate statement.
