Dominion Partners with Stonepeak to Fund Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind

U.S. utility firm Dominion Energy said on Thursday it would sell a 50% non-controlling interest in its Coastal Virginia offshore wind farm to Stonepeak to help fund construction of the roughly $10 billion project.

Dominion said it would retain full control of the construction and operation of the project, with Stonepeak to pay for half of the construction costs.

The deal is expected to close by end-2024, with Dominion to receive about $3 billion, representative of half the construction cost.

The roughly 2,600-megawatt (MW) project consists of 176 turbines, each designed to generate 14.7 MW, to be located about 27 miles (43.5 kilometers) off the coast of Virginia Beach and is expected to be the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S.

The deal comes amid a backdrop of slowing offshore wind project development in 2023 due to rising inflation, higher interest rates and supply chain issues leading to soaring costs.

Dominion said last year the approximately $10 billion project was within the budget and on track for completion by late 2026, with the second phase of construction set to begin this year.

Separately, the company also reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, hurt by higher interest expenses and soft demand for electricity in the firm's key service territories.

Shares of the company were down 1.8% at $45.45 in premarket trade.

The Richmond, Virginia-based firm posted an adjusted profit of 29 cents per share, missing the average analysts' estimate of 38 cents, according to LSEG data.

The firm also said it would conclude its business review of operations, which was initiated in November 2022, with an investor meeting scheduled for March 1.

(Reuters - Reporting by Kabir Dweit; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)