Orsted secures 3.5 GW of offshore wind contracts in UK auction

OSLO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Denmark's Orsted was awarded contracts for 3,480 megawatts (MW) of capacity at its Hornsea 3 and Hornsea 4 offshore wind power projects in Britain's latest renewables auction, the company said on Tuesday.

Hornsea 4 secured a contract for difference (CfD) for 2,400 MW of capacity at a strike price of 58.87 British pounds per megawatt hour (MWh) in inflation-indexed 2012 prices, the company said.

Hornsea 3 was meanwhile awarded 54.23 pounds per MWh for a 1,080 MW share in Tuesday's British CfD auction, known as round six.

The Hornsea 3 project had already been awarded a CfD in round four in 2022 for 2.85 GW capacity at 37.35 pounds per MWh, but this year's round allowed a portion of previous contracts to be handed back and bid again to reflect increased costs.

"We're pleased with the outcome of allocation round 6, which is an important milestone for two of the world's largest offshore wind farms," Rasmus Errboe, deputy CEO and chief commercial officer at Orsted said in a statement.

Hornsea 3, for which Orsted took a final investment decision (FID) in December, will be the world's single largest offshore wind farm with a capacity of 2,955 MW, Orsted said.

"Orsted expects to take FID on Hornsea 4 within the next 18 months and is currently targeting commissioning of the project before the end of 2030," it added.

Orsted's share price was up 4.0% at 0737 GMT. (Reporting by Nora Buli in Oslo, editing by Terje Solsvik)