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away from traditional coal-fired generation. financier. The company will assess this offer
Discussions with Botswana Development alongside other potential financiers to evaluate
Corp. (BDC) have been ongoing for several the best possible option and funding partner
months. going forward.
Tlou said that BDC was seeking internal Tlou said that Lefoko Moagi, Botswana’s Min-
investment approval, and the company contin- ister of Mineral Resources Green Technology
ues to work with BDC to successfully conclude and Energy Security (MMGE) and his team had
a funding proposal that fits within BDC’s invest- visited the Lesedi project.
ment parameters. Moagi has been a long-term supporter of
In addition, Tlou has recently received an Tlou’s project and again reiterated his support
indicative term sheet for transmission line during his visit.™
and transformer funding from a new potential

RENEWABLES

Vestas buys 50% stake in MHI

to secure offshore expansion

GLOBAL DENMARK’S Vestas has bought Mitsubishi creating a sustainable planet for future genera-
Heavy Industries’ (MHI) 50% stake in their MHI tions and offers unique growth, and with today’s
Vestas Offshore Wind (MVOW) joint venture in announcement we underline that we want to be
a swap deal that will see MHI taking a 2.5% stake an integral part of both”.
in Vestas. Vestas said MVOW was expected to report a
Vestas said that the deal was worth €709mn, consolidated revenue for 2020 of €1.4bn, with an
and that it would issue 5,049,337 new shares. EBIT margin of around 4%.
As part of the integration of MVOW into Ves- Closing of the transaction is expected to take
tas, the Japanese company will also gain a seat on place within either the fourth quarter of 2020 or
the Vestas board of directors. the first quarter of 2021.
Vestas said in a statement that it wanted to Seiji Izumisawa, president and CEO of MHI,
strengthen its partnership with MHI in a bid commented: “We are very pleased to be able to
to become a leading player in offshore wind by expand our co-operation and collaboration with
2025. Vestas, now more than ever, under the backdrop
MVOW plans to launch a new offshore wind of [the] increasing need for cleaner and more
turbine platform to improve efficiency and to economical energy worldwide. We will con-
drive the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) fur- tinue to strengthen business co-operation by
ther down. leveraging our respective strengths to support
The two companies aim to collaborate on a the growth of clean energy around the world,
green hydrogen development programme and especially in Japan.”
take part in Japan’s onshore and offshore wind Vestas said that demand for offshore wind
expansion. energy had accelerated in recent years and was
Henrik Andersen, group president and CEO expected to reach around 25 GW per year by
of Vestas, said: “Vestas is the leader in onshore 2030.
wind, but to accelerate the energy transition and This development is driven by a 67% decline
achieve our vision we must play a larger role in in the levelised cost of offshore wind energy
offshore wind. On behalf of all of Vestas, I’m since 2012 and growing applicability of offshore
therefore very excited that Mitsubishi Heavy wind energy.
Industries shares Vestas’ vision to become a Vestas said that offshore growth was driven
leading player in offshore wind energy in the by proximity to load centres, better permitting
long term and will strengthen our partnership and public acceptance, as well as MHI Vestas’
by becoming a large shareholder and part of Ves- large-scale Power-to-X solutions.™
tas’ board of directors. Offshore wind is key to

Week 43 29•October•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7