Daily Shorts: US okays 704 MW offshore wind farm, APA buys $1.1 bn Australian assets

The US has greenlighted a 704 MW wind farm consisting of 65 wind turbines and two offshore sub-stations off the coast of Rhode Island, as part of plans to install 30 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. The farm, dubbed Revolution wind project, will be owned by developers Orsted and Eversource, and is expected to become operational by 2025. The US government aims to review at least 16 offshore wind farms by 2025, clearing the way for 27 GW of cumulative offshore capacity. Later this month, the country will auction its first offshore site in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Germany's Amprion has selected Italy's Prysmian as "preferred bidder" for three power transmission projects estimated to have an aggregate value of €4.5 billion euros. The projects — BalWin1, BalWin2 and DC34 — will supply power from offshore wind farms in the North Sea to consumers in the German west and south, and are part of the country's plan to install 70 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2045. Amprion and Prysmian expect to sign definitive contacts by January. 

Australia's biggest gas pipeline operator APA Group announced a $1.1 billion deal to acquire power assets in the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia from Alinta Energy. The company will receive the 60 MW Chichester solar farm and over 900 MW of projects in development, besides 450 MW of conventional generation capacity. APA called the deal a "renewables play", while Alinta said shedding the Pilbara assets would help it focus on a 1 GW offshore wind farm in Victoria and a 900 MW pumped hydro project in New South Wales.

Sigma Lithium has sued former co-CEO Calvyn Gardner, accusing him of stealing the company's trade secrets and undermining the company's attempts to sell itself. Gardner was married to, and is currently divorcing, current Sigma Lithium CEO Ana Cabral-Gardner. Sigma Lithium, based in Vancouver, Canada, operates the Grota do Cirilo mine in Brazil and counts LG Energy Solution as a customer. It has a market cap of around $3.74 billion.