BP, JERA, Form Offshore Wind JV as BP Backs Off Renewables

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--BP (NYSE:BP) (London, England) and Japan's JERA said Monday they have agreed to form a 50:50 joint venture to operate and develop offshore wind assets. The move is widely seen as part of BP's efforts to distance itself from renewable energy and focus on its oil and gas assets and projects. For related information, see December 3, 2024, article - BP Backing Away from Hydrogen and U.S. Onshore Wind to Boost Profits.

Industrial Info is tracking five offshore wind projects, worth nearly US$22 billion, in which BP is the parent company. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Power Project Database can click here for the project reports. Industrial Info also is tracking three offshore wind projects, worth nearly US$3.5 billion, belonging to JERA, itself a 50:50 joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tokyo, Japan) and Chubu Electric Power Company Incorporated (Aichi, Japan).

The name of the new offshore wind joint venture will be JERA Nex bp, to be based in London, with operating assets and development projects totaling 13 gigawatts (GW) in potential net generating capacity, BP and JERA said in a press release. The companies will contribute operating assets with about 1 GW net generating capacity, a pipeline of development projects with about 7.5 GW capacity, and further secured leases with about 4.5 GW of potential capacity.

The partners said they have agreed to provide capital funding of up to $5.8 billion for investments committed to before the end of 2030. The equity investment contributed by the partners may be lower than the total agreed gross funding depending on project and venture financing and proceeds from asset farm-downs and sales.

The joint venture would be among the top five global offshore wind developers and would initially focus on existing projects in northwest Europe, Australia and Japan, BP and JERA said.

JERA first entered the offshore wind market in 2019 through investments in projects in the U.K. and Taiwan. It owns and operates windfarms in Belgium, Germany, Japan and Taiwan and has a development portfolio that includes projects in Japan, Ireland, and Australia.

BP said it has been building an offshore wind portfolio since 2019. It has no offshore windfarms yet but has a development pipeline with potential generating capacity of 9.7 GW, including 5.7 GW in development projects and 4 GW in secured leases.

The joint venture is subject to regulatory and other approvals, with completion expected by the end of third-quarter 2025.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).