Greenpeace has expressed serious interest in buying coal-related assets from the Swedish government to make sure they never get used.
Vattenfall AB, a state-owned utility company, is attempting to become greener and adapt to lower electricity prices by selling off its plants and mines in Germany. Greenpeace submitted its letter of interest to Vattenfall Tuesday where it asks for further information about the assets, possibly valued at billions of dollars.
“Greenpeace is taking concrete action on behalf of the climate by showing its interest in Vattenfall’s lignite activities,” Annika Jacobson, Greenpeace Sweden program manager, said in a press release. ”The Swedish government cannot contribute to an acquisition by a buyer that would continue to burn enormous amounts of coal. This is a signal Sweden cannot give before the Paris climate conference.”
Vattenfall has not set a price tag on the assets, but Bloomberg reports the total value of Vattenfall’s mines and plants to be at least $2.2 billion. Tuesday was the deadline to submit letters of interest and Vattenfall will now provide interested parties with additional information.
A Greenpeace spokesman told Bloomberg the organization is looking for donations to complete the transaction and that “it would be our supporters who would be interested in such an acquisition to save the climate.”
Vattenfall said in its invitation to submit interest that the German activities it is now trying to sell generated €2.5 billion in revenues in 2014. Greenpeace would of course not see much of this since it doesn’t intend to utilize the lignite.
Vattenfall has been in several clashes with Greenpeace over the plants but will take Greenpeace’s bid into consideration.
“All serious bids are welcome,” Vattenfall spokeswoman Sabine Froning told Bloomberg.
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