EDF Considers Selling US Renewable Unit to Focus on French Nuclear

French state-owned utility EDF is considering selling all of its U.S. renewable energy business, its CEO said on Wednesday, as the company focuses on building up its domestic nuclear operations and U.S. support for wind and solar has been rolled back.

Bernard Fontana said the company was considering selling "between 50% and 100%" of its U.S. renewable unit, revising an earlier plan to sell only a minority stake.

A deal could value the equity of the unit at nearly 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion), one person familiar with the sale said.

FOCUS ON FRENCH NUCLEAR FLEET

Fontana, who became CEO in April amid government frustration over delays in upgrading France's nuclear fleet, is prioritising investments to strengthen energy security, and was speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Adopt AI conference in Paris.

EDF has been looking for ways to raise money to fund the construction of six new nuclear reactors, and has said it was weighing possible asset sales as it contends with 50 billion euros of net debt.

Nuclear energy accounts for about 70% of power production in France and has helped push its power prices below those of neighbours Germany and Britain that rely heavily on gas-fired power. However, the French power price slump means EDF cannot rely on the wholesale market to cover lifetime costs associated with costly nuclear power plants as it eyes both expanding the nuclear fleet and extending the lifespan of existing reactors.

EDF earlier this year appointed investment bank Nomura to look for buyers of a stake of up to 49% of its U.S. renewables business, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks. Nomura declined to comment.

The company in February booked a 900-million-euro impairment on its Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm joint venture with Shell off the coast of New Jersey after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a moratorium on new wind development.

EDF's website says the company has developed 23 gigawatts of projects and has 16 GW under service contracts in North America.

Other European companies have divested renewable portfolios in the U.S. recently. Ares Management paid $2.9 billion for a 49% stake in EDPR's 1.6 GW of solar, wind and storage assets in October.

($1 = 0.8637 euros)

(Reuters)