Brazilian renewable energy company Omega Geração has signed a R$661.7m ($118m) binding agreement to acquire a 50% stake in EDF Renewables’ wind farms portfolio in Bahia.

According to the contract, Omega will acquire the interest in the Ventos da Bahia 1 and 2 complexes, which have a combined capacity of 182.6MW.

Located in the municipalities of Bonito and Mulungu do Morro (BA), the Ventos da Bahia 1 and 2 complexes comprise seven projects and became operational in two different phases.

Phase 1 commenced operations in 2017 while phase 2 started operations in 2018.

The wind facility is equipped with 75 wind turbines, 53 of which were supplied by Vestas. The remaining 22 were provided by Acciona.

For this acquisition, Omega will pay 55% of the deal value in cash while the remaining will be paid by using long-term debt.

In a statement, Omega said: “This transaction illustrates the success of our partnership with EDF, which is poised to thrive in the long run and create value for all.

“Since the beginning of our partnership in Pirapora 19 months ago, our admiration and respect for EDF Renewables have only grown, given its technical expertise, values, and commitment to sustainability.

“With this transaction, we expect to add high-quality assets to our portfolio and consolidate our presence in one of the main renewable energy regions in Brazil, inland Bahia.”

Completion of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals, including approval from the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE).

Once the deal concludes, Omega and EDF will jointly own 504MW of wind and solar assets.

In August 2018, Omega signed an agreement to acquire a 50% stake in Brazil’s largest operating solar complex, Pirapora, for R$1.1bn ($283.03m).

Under the agreement, Omega acquired a 30% stake from EDF Energies Nouvelles’ subsidiary EDF EN do Brasil and the entire 20% stake from Canadian Solar UK Projects.

German company Buss Energy Group has bought a 24.9% stake in Austrian wind turbine inspection firm Aero Enterprise.

Since 2013, Aero Enterprise has used self-developed flying robots to operate inspection flights on onshore and offshore wind turbines. The autonomous drone inspection flight is continuously monitored, though damage detection and classification is mostly automated using AI.

Siemens Energy and China Power International, a unit of renewables giant State Power Investment Corp (SPIC), have partnered to create a green hydrogen production system on a megawatt scale for a H2 fuelling station near Beijing.

Yanqing District is due to host the Winter Olympics in 2022 and its green hydrogen production system will split water into H2, using renewable power to help guarantee the hydrogen supply for public transport during and after the event.

Apollo Global Management has announced that its affiliates have acquired a stake in offshore wind energy development company US Wind.

As part of this, the company will invest up to $265m through convertible debt and equity to acquire an equity stake in US Wind. It will also fund the development and construction of a wind energy project off the coast of Maryland, US.

UAE-based renewable energy company Masdar is set to acquire a 50% stake in EDF Renewables North America’s 1.6GW clean-energy portfolio in the US.

Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

According to the deal, Masdar will acquire a stake in three utility-scale wind farms. 

US-based wind and solar facilities operator Apex Clean Energy has announced the sale of its 500MW White Mesa wind project to an undisclosed buyer.

Located in Crockett County, Texas, White Mesa Wind would be the third-largest single-phase, single-site wind farm in the US. It follows the 525MW Aviator Wind project, which is also developed by Apex and located in Texas.