Centrica to sell half of Braes of Doune wind farm

ENERGY group Centrica is selling its 50 per cent stake in a Scottish wind farm in a £59 million deal.

The holding in the Braes of Doune onshore wind farm near Stirling has been bought by the Hermes GPE Infrastructure Fund.

Centrica, which owns Scottish Gas, will continue to receive 100 per cent of the wind farm’s output under a power purchase agreement.

Centrica said the disposal was in line with its strategy to release capital from operational wind assets.

Following completion of the transaction Centrica will retain equity interests in four operational wind farms and also in potential offshore wind farm projects at Race Bank and in the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone.

It acquired the stake in the Braes of Doune wind farm, which has 36 turbines, in August 2007 for £42m. The other 50 per cent of the wind farm is owned by Greencoat UK Wind which floated on the stock market earlier this year.

Hermes GPE is a specialist independent investor and advisor with more than £6.2 billion of capital under management on behalf of leading institutional investors and pension funds.

Centrica’s latest full year results showed a 14 per cent rise in operating profits follow-ing last year’s record £2 billion investment in assets in the North Sea and further afield.

The UK’s biggest energy retailer by customer numbers also benefited from colder winter weather, which pushed domestic gas consumption up by 12 per cent.