Statoil and Statkraft have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for the Norwegian company to take over as operator of the Sheringham Shoal Offshore windfarm from next year.
The company will also increase its share in the Dogger Bank projects through this deal.
Sheringham Shoal is one of the world’s largest producing offshore windfarms providing renewable energy to up to 220,000 UK homes.
The windfarm, located off the coast of Norfolk, has been in operation since 2012 and has a capacity of 317MW.
Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil’s executive vice president for New Energy Solutions, said:“Taking over the operatorship for Sheringham Shoal represents a milestone for Statoil, as our first operatorship during commercial operations. As operator of both the Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon offshore wind farms, located in the same area, we can further improve efficiency and increase competitiveness across the projects.”
Statoil and Statkraft each hold a 40% share in Sheringham Shoal, with 20% held by the UK Green Investment Bank.