JERA Nex bp has agreed to acquire the remaining 50% stake in the Mona offshore wind project from EnBW AG, taking full ownership of the asset. The transaction follows EnBW’s decision to exit after the project failed to secure a Contract for Difference (CfD) in the UK’s latest allocation round.

The key insight is simple: development consent alone is no longer sufficient to hold capital in UK offshore wind. Despite Mona receiving development consent in July 2025 and a Marine Licence in September 2025, the absence of a CfD materially altered EnBW’s risk-return profile.

Mona is a large-scale project by any measure. The 1.5 GW offshore wind farm is located in Welsh waters in the eastern Irish Sea, spread across 300 sq km at water depths of 30–46 metres. Grid connection is planned via the Bodelwyddan National Grid substation, with commercial operations targeted for 2030/31. Yet the project currently has no CfD and no alternative PPA in place.

For EnBW, holding a merchant-exposed offshore asset with multi-billion-pound capex and long lead times no longer made balance sheet sense. For JERA Nex bp, full ownership consolidates control ahead of future offtake or support mechanisms, but also concentrates merchant and policy risk.

This deal signals a tightening market discipline. UK offshore wind is moving into a phase where revenue certainty, not permitting progress, dictates ownership decisions. Capital is increasingly unwilling to wait through policy gaps, even on fully consented assets.

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