Mitsubishi Corp., Japan's largest trading house by market value, is investing $765 million to aid Germany's renewable energy shift by helping TenneT Holding BV connect sea-based wind farms to the power grid.

Mitsubishi will pay 240 million euros ($319 million) for a 49 percent stake in the BorWin1 and BorWin2 grid connection projects, and 336 million euros for a 49 percent stake in HelWin2 and DolWin2, TenneT said today in a statement. Total investment in all four projects will be 2.9 billion euros, with an equity share of about 40 percent, said TenneT.

“Mitsubishi’s equity investment strengthens our balance sheet and helps us finance our offshore investments,” TenneT Chief Finance Officer Eelco de Boer said. The projects “show that the German legal and regulatory framework is attractive for institutional investors.”

Germany is investing in clean energy after announcing it will phase out nuclear power by 2022. While it wants to add 25,000 megawatts of sea-based wind turbines by 2030, the expansion has been delayed after TenneT failed to finish grid connection projects on time. Utilities including RWE AG and EON SE threatened to halt investment because of the delays.

The high-voltage cable projects will be able to connect 2.8 gigawatts of offshore wind farms with networks on land, TenneT said. The grid company operates power lines stretching from Germany’s North Sea coast to the Austrian border south of Munich, serving about 20 million people.

Lead image: Offshore wind via Shutterstock