Orsted has agreed to sell 80 percent of four operating US wind farms to Stonepeak for $300 million. The farms add up to 956 MW. Divided one by the other, the price looks like about $0.31 million per MW, a fraction of what operating US wind usually changes hands for. The number is real. What it buys is not the whole of the farms.
Key takeaways
- Orsted signed an agreement on 13 March 2024 to sell an 80 percent stake in a 956 MW US onshore wind portfolio to Stonepeak for a consideration of $300 million, its first partnership with Stonepeak.
- Orsted had already raised about $700 million of tax equity for the four wind farms in the Stonepeak deal, bringing its total proceeds from the portfolio to about $1 billion.
- The Orsted portfolio sold to Stonepeak comprises Western Trail (367 MW, Texas), Helena (268 MW, Texas), Sunflower (200 MW, Kansas) and Ford Ridge (121 MW, Illinois), with a weighted average operating age of 2.17 years.
- The four Orsted wind farms in the Stonepeak deal sell power to corporate buyers including Google, PepsiCo, Nucor, Mars and Levi's, with a weighted average remaining contracted period of about 14.6 years.
- Enerdatics records a median of $1.10 million per MW across 11 priced US operating wind deals in 2023 and 2024; adding Orsted's tax equity to a grossed-up Stonepeak price gives about $1.12 million per MW.
What exactly did Stonepeak buy?
Stonepeak bought 80 percent of the cash flow, not 80 percent of everything. Under the deal, Stonepeak receives 80 percent of the cash distributions from the projects, while Orsted stays on as managing member of the partnership and keeps operating and managing the assets. Orsted also keeps a unilateral call option over Stonepeak's interests, which it can exercise in certain circumstances after closing.
The key to the price is what sits ahead of Stonepeak. Tax equity is money from investors who fund part of a US renewable project in return for most of its federal tax credits and a share of cash until they reach an agreed return. The owner who holds the rest of the economics is usually called the cash equity investor. Orsted had already raised about $700 million of tax equity for these four farms, so Stonepeak's $300 million buys into the cash equity layer behind it.
That is why $300 million divided by 956 MW gives such a low number. It compares a payment for part of one layer of the capital structure with the full capacity of the farms. The structured deal value field in Enerdatics' record is blank; the $300 million consideration comes from the record's summary.
Why would Orsted sell control of the cash flows but keep the keys?
Because it wants the capital back without giving up the business. Orsted described the deal as part of its farm-down programme, divesting ownership shares in existing assets to reinvest in new projects while keeping operational control and long-term flexibility. It is Orsted's second sale of multiple US assets under that approach.
The first came in October 2022, when Orsted sold 50 percent of an 862 MW US onshore portfolio to Energy Capital Partners for about $410 million. Orsted has run the same play offshore in Europe, where Glennmont bought half of Orsted's Gode Wind 3 in late 2023. The call option is what makes this version different. It gives Orsted a route to buy back Stonepeak's interests later, so the sale can work more like financing than a permanent exit.
The assets suit a financial buyer. They are young, with a weighted average of 2.17 years in operation, and they are spread across three power markets: Western Trail and Helena in ERCOT, Sunflower in SPP and Ford Ridge in MISO. Western Trail started operating in April 2021, Ford Ridge in March 2022, Helena in June 2022 and Sunflower in August 2023.
Who buys the power from these four wind farms?
A long list of corporate buyers, which is the other reason Stonepeak was willing to pay. Western Trail sells to Hormel Foods and PepsiCo under long-term contracts, plus 100 MW to Nucor for ten years. Helena sells 150 MW to Google for 15 years from 2023, and also supplies Henkel under a ten-year contract. Sunflower supplies Amy's Kitchen, Great Lakes Cheese, Levi's, the JM Smucker Company, Stryker and Valvoline under a 12-year arrangement, plus 25.8 MW to Citizens Financial. Ford Ridge sells to Mars, BHJ and Silgan Containers, under a contract the record lists at 30 years.
Across the portfolio, the weighted average remaining contract life is about 14.6 years. A cash equity investor is buying a stream of distributions, and contracts with 15 named corporate buyers make that stream easier to forecast than merchant power. Orsted has used the same approach of splitting a plant's output among several corporates in Texas solar, where four corporate buyers signed up for Mockingbird.
Enerdatics' data shows where the deal lands once the structure is accounted for. Enerdatics records 35 US operating wind transactions across 2023 and 2024, and 11 of them carry a value that supports a per MW figure. Their median is $1.10 million per MW, with an interquartile range of $0.86 million to $1.41 million. Grossing Stonepeak's $300 million for 80 percent up to 100 percent gives $375 million, or about $0.39 million per MW. Adding the roughly $700 million of tax equity gives about $1.075 billion, or about $1.12 million per MW. That simple sum is Enerdatics' arithmetic, not a reported enterprise value, but it places the portfolio close to the median rather than far below it.
What does the deal signal for US wind M&A?
It signals that headline prices for US renewables stakes need unpacking before they can be compared. When a project has tax equity in place, a buyer of the cash equity pays for what is left after the tax equity investors are served. Divide that payment by the full capacity and the result looks cheap. A similar effect shows up in HASI's structured investment in AES solar, which also prices far below US peers on a simple per MW basis.
For developers like Orsted, the structure offers a way to recycle capital while keeping operating control, the customer relationships and an option to buy back in. For infrastructure funds like Stonepeak, it offers contracted, young assets without the job of running them. The open question is the call option: the record does not set out the circumstances in which Orsted could use it, or at what price.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Stonepeak pay for Orsted's US wind portfolio stake? Stonepeak agreed to pay $300 million for an 80 percent stake in the 956 MW portfolio. Orsted had also raised about $700 million of tax equity for the farms, bringing its total proceeds to about $1 billion.
Which wind farms are in the Orsted and Stonepeak deal? The portfolio comprises Western Trail (367 MW) and Helena (268 MW) in Texas, Sunflower (200 MW) in Kansas and Ford Ridge (121 MW) in Illinois.
Will Orsted still operate the wind farms? Yes. Orsted remains managing member of the partnership, continues to provide asset management services and keeps a unilateral call option over Stonepeak's interests in certain circumstances. Vinson & Elkins advised Stonepeak.
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