(Bloomberg) -- Germany’s RWE AG will buy a giant offshore wind development in the UK from Vattenfall AB, part of which was shelved by the Swedish company earlier this year as surging costs hammer the industry. 

The rights to develop the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone will be divested for an enterprise value of £963 million (about $1.2 billion), according to a statement late Thursday. Once completed, the development will have a capacity of 4.2 gigawatts, among the largest in the country.

Read more: Europe’s Battered Wind Sector Starts to Find Hope In Year of Crisis

The move comes after Vattenfall paused work on one of the sites earlier this year, citing a hit it took from inflation. The sale is “the best way forward both for the company and for the Norfolk projects,” Vattenfall said, adding that it will use the proceeds for ventures that better fit its portfolio and risk appetite. 

The divestment also means the impairment and provisions Vattenfall reported earlier this year will be reversed, it said.

Across Europe, wind developers are dealing with a raft of challenges including higher costs for turbines, supply-chain bottlenecks and international competition, while facing difficulty securing financing for new projects. Projects in the UK were hit particularly hard, with the government trying to rekindle investment in the sector.

Last month, Vattenfall said that it may bid in a future UK renewable auction with Norfolk Boreas, part of the development it’s now in the process of selling to RWE. In its statement on Thursday, the company said it remains committed to the country, with a 1.1 gigawatts of offshore and onshore wind capacity already installed there.  

RWE, which plans to spend €55 billion ($60 billion) worldwide to 2030 on its green portfolio, said in a separate statement it will resume the development of Norfolk Boreas, and all three farms in the Norfolk Zone are expected to be commissioned in this decade.

The sale of Boreas, as well as Vanguard East and Vanguard West — also part of the development — is pending regulatory approval, and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024. Until then, Vattenfall will continue to develop Vanguard East and Vanguard West. 

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