In December 2023 Masdar agreed to take 49 percent of Dogger Bank South, RWE's planned 3 GW offshore wind project in the North Sea. Neither side disclosed a price. A year later, Masdar's own accounts did: GBP 515.7 million. That is more per MW than the other priced UK offshore development deals of the period, for a project that had not yet applied for its planning consent.
Key takeaways
- Masdar agreed on 1 December 2023 to acquire a 49 percent stake in RWE's 3 GW Dogger Bank South offshore wind project in the UK, as part of a $13.9 billion investment in the UK's renewables sector. The deal completed on 29 February 2024.
- Enerdatics identified through Masdar's 2024 financial report that the purchase price for the 49 percent Dogger Bank South stake was GBP 515.7 million ($652.73 million), although neither buyer nor seller disclosed it in the transaction announcement.
- Masdar's GBP 515.7 million purchase price for 49 percent of Dogger Bank South works out at about $0.44 million per MW of its share, equivalent to about $1.33 billion for the whole 3 GW project.
- Dogger Bank South comprises the 1.5 GW Dogger Bank South East and 1.5 GW Dogger Bank South West projects, more than 100 km off England's east coast, with construction expected to start in 2025, the first 800 MW due online in 2029 and full commissioning by late 2031.
- RWE retains 51 percent of Dogger Bank South and control of development, construction and operation, while Masdar reimburses RWE for 49 percent of development costs incurred to date and co-develops the project.
What did Masdar buy at this stage of development?
Seabed rights, more than two years of surveys and a project close to applying for consent. RWE signed Agreements for Lease with The Crown Estate for the two Dogger Bank South projects in January 2023, giving it exclusive rights to develop the sites. Offshore and onshore surveys had begun in March 2021. When Masdar joined, the project was nearing the end of stakeholder and community consultation, with Development Consent Orders likely to be submitted in the second quarter of 2024.
A Development Consent Order is the planning permission a large UK energy project needs before it can be built. Without one, there is no project. Masdar was therefore buying into a development asset, not a construction-ready one, with its planning consent still to be applied for.
The governance reflects that. RWE keeps a majority and runs the project through development, construction and operation. Masdar reimburses its share of the development spending to date and becomes a co-developer. Societe Generale acted as Masdar's financial adviser and Allen & Overy as its legal adviser.
Why did the price only emerge a year later?
Because it was never announced. Masdar and RWE described the deal without a figure, and the price appeared only in Masdar's 2024 financial report. Enerdatics identified it there and updated Leap on 31 December 2024. This post originally carried a lower estimate of the value, made before that disclosure. The GBP 515.7 million in Masdar's accounts is the figure used here.
Leap's structured deal value field remains blank, because the transaction announcement disclosed nothing. The purchase price comes from the record's own update, which Enerdatics flags as stealth sourced: identified despite no public disclosure by either party in the transaction press release.
Silence on price is the norm in this part of the market, as the comparison below shows. A buyer paying for a share of past development spending, plus a premium for the project's prospects, has little reason to publish the split. Reimbursement of 49 percent of development costs is part of the GBP 515.7 million, and Leap does not break out how much.
How does the Dogger Bank South price compare?
It sits well above the other two priced UK offshore development deals of the period. Enerdatics' data shows that of 25 development-stage UK wind transactions mentioning offshore wind announced between 2022 and 2024, only two others carry a disclosed value for a wind farm. Three weeks after the Masdar deal, RWE paid Vattenfall $1,220.5 million for the 4.2 GW Norfolk offshore wind portfolio, about $0.29 million per MW. In March 2023, Gulf Energy paid $108.5 million for 24.99 percent of the 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing project, which grosses up to about $434 million for the whole project, also about $0.29 million per MW. Masdar's Dogger Bank South stake, at about $0.44 million per MW, is roughly half as much again.
The gap is notable because RWE was on both sides of the pricing. It sold 49 percent of Dogger Bank South at about $0.44 million per MW and, within weeks, bought Norfolk at about $0.29 million per MW. The records do not explain the difference. Norfolk was a larger portfolio bought outright. Dogger Bank South came with a partner taking a minority share and paying its part of the costs to date.
What does the deal signal for UK offshore wind?
It signals that the UK's large offshore developers now bring in capital partners well before construction, rather than selling down operating assets. RWE gains a partner to share development costs on a 3 GW project years before first power in 2029. The same approach later appeared at Norfolk, where RWE agreed to sell half of Norfolk Vanguard East and West to KKR, as covered in Enerdatics' analysis of KKR's entry into UK offshore wind through the Norfolk Vanguard farm-down.
It also confirms Masdar's pattern. Its Global Offshore Wind division in London focuses on early-stage investment and development. In July 2023 it took 49 percent of the 476 MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm in Germany from Iberdrola, analysed in the $1.76 billion valuation behind Masdar's Baltic Eagle stake. Its later purchase of half of Iberdrola's East Anglia 3 followed, covered in the GBP 50.6 million payment behind Masdar's East Anglia 3 stake. Masdar and RWE also share history: a decade earlier, with partners, they launched the 630 MW London Array, then the world's largest offshore wind farm.
What Masdar has paid for is a place in the queue. Dogger Bank South still had to secure its consent and reach construction in 2025. The higher price per MW only looks good if those arrive on the timetable RWE has set out.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Masdar pay for its Dogger Bank South stake? Enerdatics identified through Masdar's 2024 financial report that Masdar paid GBP 515.7 million ($652.73 million) for its 49 percent stake. The price was not disclosed when the deal was announced on 1 December 2023.
How big is Dogger Bank South? Dogger Bank South is expected to have 3 GW of installed capacity across two 1.5 GW projects, Dogger Bank South East and Dogger Bank South West, located more than 100 km off the east coast of England.
When will Dogger Bank South be built? Construction is expected to start in 2025. The first 800 MW is planned to come online in 2029, with full commissioning expected by late 2031.
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