A cross-firm team led by Corporate partner Jonathan Eves, assisted by Head of Renewable Energy Ross Fairley, Guinevere Wentworth, Jess Chesterfield, Peter Ramsden and Molly Horton, among others, advised on all legal aspects of the deal, which sees Statkraft acquire the entire shareholding of UK onshore wind developer Airvolution Clean Energy Ltd. The acquisition is in line with Statkraft’s ambitions to deploy 600MW of onshore wind and solar generation in the UK by 2025, with a further 600MW in development.
The acquisition further strengthens Statkraft’s position in the UK since its acquisition in 2018 of Element Power UK and Ireland. Airvolution has been working exclusively on behalf of Statkraft since October 2017 to identify, secure and bring forward project opportunities in Scotland and this deal will see the Airvolution team moving in-house as part of the growing Statkraft workforce based in the UK. Airvolution’s Glasgow office will be retained by Statkraft and will also double in size with new recruits starting in September.
Ross Fairley concludes: “The team were delighted to work with Statkraft on this transaction and we look forward to seeing them and Airvolution combine to deliver against their ambitious targets for the UK. From the legal and regulatory perspective Burges Salmon has been at the heart of UK onshore wind development for many years and with Net Zero commitments onshore wind is going to be crucial in years to come.”