Eversource Energy Announces Agreement to Sell Interest in Uncommitted Offshore Lease Area
25 Mai 2023 - 10:30PM
Business Wire
Eversource Energy (NYSE: ES) today announced that it has
completed its strategic review of its 50 percent ownership interest
in one of North America’s most attractive offshore wind development
sites. As a result of completing this review, Eversource announces
the following updates:
- Eversource has agreed to sell its 50 percent interest in a
currently uncommitted lease area of approximately 175,000
developable acres located 25 miles off the south coast of
Massachusetts to Ørsted for $625 million in an all-cash
transaction. Ørsted currently owns the other 50 percent share of
the joint venture, including the uncommitted lease area. This
transaction is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of
2023, subject to regulatory approvals.
- Eversource has entered into a binding letter of intent with
Ørsted to use a portion of the proceeds from the lease area sale to
provide tax equity for the South Fork Wind project through a new
tax equity ownership interest. Eversource will recover this
investment primarily in the form of investment tax credits that
will be received around the time of the project’s commercial
operations date. Construction of South Fork commenced in early
2022, with commercial operation expected in late 2023. Eversource’s
tax equity investment in South Fork Wind is also expected to close
in the third quarter.
- Eversource has also determined that it is in the best long-term
interest of the company to advance the sale of its existing 50
percent interest in its three jointly owned contracted offshore
wind projects (South Fork Wind, Revolution Wind, and Sunrise Wind)
with a total capacity of 1,758 MW. This process continues to
progress and Eversource anticipates an announcement by the end of
June.
“We have had the pleasure of working alongside Ørsted for more
than six years and have experienced firsthand their expertise and
global leadership in the offshore wind sector. We continue to
expect that offshore wind projects built in our partnership’s lease
area, including the three now under development, will play a
critical role in decarbonizing the generation mix of Southern New
England and New York,” said Joe Nolan, Eversource’s president,
chief executive officer, and chairman. “While we are pursuing an
exit of the unregulated offshore wind business, Eversource is fully
committed to being a catalyst to the region’s clean energy
transition, with our regulated companies building many of the
facilities that will enable more than 9,000 megawatts of offshore
wind generation to reach the homes and businesses of Southern New
England. We share the same goals as the states in which we operate
when it comes to building the clean energy delivery systems of the
future.”
As a condition to close, the lease sale transaction will require
approval of The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States.
“I want to thank Eversource for our six-year partnership and for
their expertise that has strategically advanced the onshore scopes
of our three projects, which will deliver renewable energy to Rhode
Island, Connecticut and New York,” said David Hardy, Group EVP and
CEO Americas at Ørsted.
Eversource cannot provide any assurances regarding the outcome
of the sale process of its three contracted projects. As a result
of multiple bids and indicative offers from interested parties,
Eversource has evaluated its aggregate investment in the three
projects, uncommitted lease area, and other related capitalized
costs and believes that an other-than-temporary impairment exists.
Eversource expects its second quarter 2023 results will include a
non-recurring after-tax impairment charge currently estimated to
range from $220 million to $280 million. The current estimate of
fair value is based on the anticipated potential sales price of
Eversource’s 50 percent interest of the three contracted projects,
as well as the sale of the uncommitted lease area. Proceeds from
the transaction will be used to pay off parent company debt. This
impairment charge will not impact Eversource’s customers.
Also today, Eversource reaffirmed its full-year 2023, non-GAAP
earnings projection of between $4.25 and $4.43 earnings per share.
It also reaffirmed its long-term earnings per share growth rate of
solidly in the upper half of 5 to 7 percent from a 2022 base of
$4.09 per share.
Eversource has engaged Goldman Sachs as its financial advisor to
assist with the transactions and Ropes & Gray serves as its
legal counsel.
Eversource Energy operates New England’s largest energy delivery
system and serves approximately 4.4 million electric, natural gas
and water utility customers in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New
Hampshire.
This document includes statements concerning Eversource Energy’s
expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, strategies,
assumptions of future events, future financial performance or
growth and other statements that are not historical facts. These
statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Generally,
readers can identify these forward-looking statements through the
use of words or phrases such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“intend,” “plan,” “project,” “believe,” “forecast,” “should,”
“could” and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or
outcomes to differ materially from those included in the
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on
the current expectations, estimates, assumptions or projections of
management and are not guarantees of future performance. These
expectations, estimates, assumptions or projections may vary
materially from actual results. Accordingly, any such statements
are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are
accompanied by, the following important factors that may cause our
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those
contained in our forward-looking statements, including, but not
limited to: cyberattacks or breaches, including those resulting in
the compromise of the confidentiality of our proprietary
information and the personal information of our customers;
disruptions in the capital markets or other events that make our
access to necessary capital more difficult or costly; changes in
economic conditions, including impact on interest rates, tax
policies, and customer demand and payment ability; ability or
inability to commence and complete our major strategic development
projects and opportunities; acts of war or terrorism, physical
attacks or grid disturbances that may damage and disrupt our
electric transmission and electric, natural gas, and water
distribution systems; actions or inaction of local, state and
federal regulatory, public policy and taxing bodies; substandard
performance of third-party suppliers and service providers;
fluctuations in weather patterns, including extreme weather due to
climate change; changes in business conditions, which could include
disruptive technology or development of alternative energy sources
related to our current or future business model; contamination of,
or disruption in, our water supplies; changes in levels or timing
of capital expenditures; changes in laws, regulations or regulatory
policy, including compliance with environmental laws and
regulations; changes in accounting standards and financial
reporting regulations; actions of rating agencies; and other
presently unknown or unforeseen factors.
Other risk factors are detailed in Eversource Energy’s reports
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They are
updated as necessary and available on Eversource Energy’s website
at www.eversource.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. All
such factors are difficult to predict and contain uncertainties
that may materially affect Eversource Energy’s actual results, many
of which are beyond our control. You should not place undue
reliance on the forward-looking statements, as each speaks only as
of the date on which such statement is made, and, except as
required by federal securities laws, Eversource Energy undertakes
no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such
statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230525005815/en/
INVESTOR: Jeffrey R. Kotkin (860) 665-5154
Robert S. Becker (860) 665-3249
MEDIA: Caroline Pretyman 617-424-2460
caroline.pretyman@eversource.com
Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)
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