ENGIE sold its shares in the Loy Yang B coal power plant in Australia resulting in the company's coal generation capacity dropping to 6 percent from the 13 percent listed in 2015, the company announced on Thursday.
The company announced that Alinta Energy’s owner, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, entered into a conditional binding agreement to acquire the total shares of the Loy Yang B power station in Australia.
ENGIE holds a 70 percent stake in the power plant while Mitsui holds the remaining 30 percent.
The 1,000-megawatt coal power plant located in Victoria’s Latrobe valley, and which employs 151 people, provides about 17 percent of Australia's energy needs.
'This transaction confirms ENGIE’s positioning in low-carbon generation, energy infrastructure and integrated customer solutions,' Isabelle Kocher, ENGIE chief executive officer, was quoted as saying.
After this sale, coal's share of ENGIE's global power production capacity will drop to 6 percent from the 13 percent recorded at the end of 2015.
The proposed transaction, planned for completion in the first quarter of 2018 at the latest, is expected to translate into a €666 million reduction in ENGIE’s consolidated net financial debt.
By Ebru Sengul
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr