Brookfield, chaired by former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, has acquired a 12.45% stake in four British offshore wind farms owned by Orsted for £1.75 billion ($2.3 billion).
This major deal includes the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Hornsea 2, located 90 kilometers off the Yorkshire coast with a capacity of 1.32 gigawatts – enough to power around 1.4 million homes.
This acquisition represents approximately 20% of Orsted’s 2026 divestment target of £8.75 billion, a strategy to reduce costs and strengthen its balance sheet amid rising interest rates and supply chain challenges that will impact the company’s profitability affect the sector. Orsted operates more than 5 GW of offshore wind capacity, with a further 5 GW under construction, including Hornsea 3 and 4. These latest projects have recently won contracts at the UK’s clean energy auction, for which the government has increased the budget to £1 .5 billion to stimulate investments in renewable energy. .
Connor Teskey, CEO of Brookfield Renewables, stated that UK offshore wind farms are “a crucial part of the energy mix”, echoing Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ claim that this deal is a “huge vote of confidence in the UK clean energy sector”. Since Labour’s election victory in July, the government has prioritized net zero targets by 2050, increasing support for renewables and launching Great British Energy with £8.3 billion in taxpayer support.
For Brookfield, this acquisition builds on its recent foray into the UK wind market following the purchase of Banks Renewables, renamed OnPath, which 11 onshore wind farms throughout Great Britain. This is Brookfield’s first offshore wind project in Britain, adding to the global wind capacity of 11.1 GW, more than half of which is in North America.