KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB)’s acquisition of a 49% stake in an offshore wind farm company, Blyth Offshore Demonstrator Limited (BODL), marks the former’s maiden entry into the international offshore wind market and also enhances its renewable energy (RE) portfolio.

       The utility giant is targeting to grow its RE capacity to 8,300MW by 2025.

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       As of December 2021, TNB has a total RE capacity of 3,487.2MW including 2,771.4MW in Malaysia and 715.8MW across the UK, Turkey and India.

       In a statement Thursday, TNB said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vantage RE Ltd (Vantage RE) had acquired a 49% stake from EDF Renewables (EDFR), a subsidiary of the French utility company, électricité de France (EDF).

       “Sealed on Oct 18, 2021, the acquisition marks TNB’s maiden entry into the international offshore wind market as BODL currently owns offshore wind assets off the coast of Blyth, Northumberland, England,” it said.

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       TNB said assets include five turbines with a total installed capacity of 41.5MW (Blyth 1) and further development rights for a floating offshore wind project of up to 58.4MW (Blyth 2) located off the Northumberland coast.

       The five 8.3MW turbines of Blyth 1 are installed with gravity-based foundations, which use a concrete load to keep the turbines securely in place without penetrating the seabed.

       The wind farm has been in operation since 2017 under the Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROC) subsidy regime that is expected to provide stable revenues. Blyth 2 is an innovative floating offshore wind project currently in the early stage of development.

       “The acquisition is one of the planned strategic acquisitions for TNB to accelerate its journey in delivering on its environmental, social and governance (ESG) vision,” TNB said, adding that it had announced Sustainability Pathway, a blueprint with an aspiration to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

       The Pathway is underpinned by a commitment to reduce 35% of TNB’s emissions intensity as well as 50% of coal generation capacity by 2035.

       Vantage RE was launched on July 1, 2021 to own, operate and manage TNB’s portfolio of renewable energy (RE) assets in the UK and Europe.

       To date, it has achieved a 530.4MW RE portfolio including offshore wind, onshore wind and solar farms in the UK.