Ørsted Divests Danish Coal Station & Transit Harbor
Danish offshore wind giant and power company Ørsted continues to streamline its business towards a greener future as it announced last week it had sold off the Stigsnæs Power Station and Stigsnæs Transit Harbour near Skælskør in Denmark.
It’s been a busy 18 months for Danish power company Ørsted, ever since it received regulatory approval to proceed with the divestment of its oil & gas business in September 2017 and promptly changed its name from DONG Energy. Since then, the company has been involved in some of the world’s largest offshore wind deals and has led the way into groundbreaking new offshore arenas in Taiwan and the United States.
Further, the company has continued to seek to divest itself of assets and businesses not in line with its drive towards a renewable energy-focused future. However, the company’s plans to sell off its Danish power distribution and residential customer business were undermined and, subsequently, halted by the Danish Ministry of Finance which raised concerns over the planned divestment.
Regardless, Ørsted has continued to focus itself on renewable energy technologies, acquiring US onshore wind energy developer Lincoln Clean Energy in a deal worth approximately $580 million in August 2018 as well as acquiring in October 2018 Rhode Island-based offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind in a move set to be worth $510 million. A month later, Ørsted furthered its commitment to the offshore wind industry by raising its offshore wind target to 15 gigawatts (GW) by 2025 and committing DKK 200 billion ($30.2 billion) to invest in green energy by the same time.
The company’s moves have not hurt it either, as it posted record profits in 2018, eclipsing its 2017 figures and significantly outperforming its own expectations.
Ørsted’s streamlining of its business and assets continued this month, as it announced last Friday that it had signed an agreement with Danish consortium Stigsnæs Industripark A/S for the sale of its Stigsnæs Power Station and Stigsnæs Transit Harbour, as well as the Stigsnæs coal terminal, near Skælskør, in Denmark.
The Stigsnæs Industripark A/S consortium — made up of Rimeco Aktieselskab, Aabenraa, Kloster A/S, Løsning, HM Entreprenør A/S, Horsens, and P. Olesen & Sønner A/S, Hovedgård — was founded by four companies with extensive experience within demolition, refinement of by-products, transport, and the contracting industry. Thus, the consortium takes over the obligation of cleaning up the area and currently plan to remove the existing power station buildings with a view to developing the area.
“We’re pleased with having found Stigsnæs Industripark A/S as a new and solid owner of Stigsnæs Power Station and Stigsnæs Transit Harbour,” said Thomas Dalsgaard, Executive Vice President and CEO of Bioenergy in Ørsted. “The power station has been closed since 2012, so currently we primarily use the area as a coal transit harbour. However, having decided that from 2023 Ørsted will no longer use coal as fuel, it makes perfect sense to free up these areas and allow for new development here.”
The Stigsnæs Power Station was decommissioned in December 2012 and the Stigsnæs Transit Harbour is currently in use primarily as a coal transit harbor for Ørsted — though it can also be used for the handling of various types of biomass.
Rimeco Aktieselskab – one of the companies in the consortium – has previously acquired the Ensted Power Station near Aabenraa in the southern part of Jutland, originally owned by Ørsted, and is currently removing and developing the area.
“We’ve been interested in Stigsnæs Power Station for some years,” explained Klaus Peter Riggelsen, CEO of Rimeco. “The demolition and recycling potential of the power station is huge, and Stigsnæs Transit Harbour is one of the deepest in Europe, offering great potential for developing and operating the harbour. The partners included in the consortium have unique competences within the areas needed for this task. So we’re looking forward to getting started.”
“If you want to operate a harbour in Denmark, Stigsnæs Power Station is very high on your wish list,” added Mads Kloster, who is CEO of Kloster A/S. “The harbour has a unique location on the charts and its depth and large hinterland offer great opportunities for development and for attracting customers from both Denmark and abroad. We’re looking forward to taking on the task, and we’re happy to be part of a consortium with several large and long-established Danish companies, each having unique knowledge within their respective fields.”
