Chinese 'considering exit' from largest wind farm under construction in Scotland - report
Several Chinese companies are said to have overstretched their financial exposure overseas
The Chinese conglomerate behind Edinburgh-based Red Rock Renewables is reportedly looking to sell a portfolio of UK energy assets that includes the 1.1GW Inch Cape offshore wind farm development off Scotland.
Sale of the assets, which include offshore and onshore wind farms, could be valued at £500m ($673m) to £700m, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified.
Inch Cape is anchored mainly in the UK’s AR4 allocation auction round for Contracts for Difference that was staged in 2022. A CfD for an additional 226MW was awarded in AR6 in September 2024.
The developers are aiming to achieve first power before the end of 2026 and become fully operational in 2027.
Red Rock also has a stake in the SSE-operated Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm and owns the 50MW Afton Wind Farm in East Ayrshire and the Benbrack Onshore Wind Farm in Dumfries and Galloway, all in Scotland.
The listed SDIC Power Holdings Co unit said last October that Red Rock Renewables would be investing as much as £962m in the Inch Cape wind power project.
It added that several high-profile Chinese companies have scaled back their overseas exposure after snapping up international assets ranging from airports and hotel chains to football clubs.
They include Dalian Wanda Group Co., Fosun International Ltd. and HNA Group Co., which became saddled with debt and faced pressure from the government in Beijing to rein themselves in.
But others are expanding their reach, such as China Southern Power Grid Co., which is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling stake in Chilean power transmission company Transelec SA.