Innogy Likely to Sell Stake in Sofia Wind Project

Germany's Innogy is likely to sell a stake in its Sofia offshore wind project in Britain, once a subsidy is secured, the company's chief operating officer for renewables said.

Innogy plans to enter the 1,200 megawatt Sofia project into Britain's next offshore wind subsidy auction in May, and once built in the mid to late 2020s, it could generate enough electricity to power around 1 million homes.

"We would take it certainly though the CfD (contracts-for-difference) bidding process and towards financial investment decision … then potentially bring in partners," Paul Cowling, UK managing director for offshore wind told journalists.

Under the CfD subsidy scheme, renewable projects bid for a guaranteed minimum price at which they can sell electricity.

Innogy last year sold a 41 percent stake in its $2.6 billion Triton Knoll British offshore wind project, which has secured a CfD subsidy, to Japan's Electric Power Development Co and Kansai Electric Power Co.

Innogy would like to take a similar path for Sofia as selling a stake would help it de-risk the project from its balance sheet and reduce the overall cost of capital of the project, Innogy COO Hans Bunting told the same briefing.

(Reporting by Susanna Twidale; Editing by Alexander Smith)