Parkwind owner mulls sale options as 'entry ticket' offshore wind favours deep pockets

Offshore wind player Parkwind could be open to a part sell-off amid a “fiercely competitive” industry with ever-larger projects needing hefty capital earlier in their development, said the Belgian company’s owner.

Parent group Virya Energy will assess “possible strategic development options such as partnerships and/or a partial divestment” for its offshore wind activities, conducted via Parkwind, said a statement.

Parkwind is seen as one of the few ‘independent’ offshore wind groups still active in a market increasingly dominated by huge utilities and oil supermajors. The Belgium-based developer has almost 800MW off its home coast and projects underway in Ireland and Germany, where it is currently building the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 project.

The announcement came from Virya’s own majority owner, the Belgian retail group Colruyt, which cited a “speeding up of the evolution of the offshore wind industry” after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent expansion of ambitions in the sector.

Colruyt said that will come with “a substantial increase in the size of offshore wind projects, which results in a higher financial exposure of investors as from the early stage of the projects”.

The Belgian group further cited “an increased focus on renewable energy resulting in fierce competition and requiring higher investments (for example in the form of entry tickets for investors) for new offshore wind projects”.

Virya – which along with Parkwind owns other renewables developers including Eoly and Eurowatt – wants to expand its reach into solar and hydrogen, as well as “new geographies”, said Colruyt.