http://www.newenergyworldnetwork.com/renewable-energy-news/by-technology/wind/c-power-secures-e1-3bn-financing-for-thornton-bank-expansion.html

The C-Power consortium, together with its shareholder RWE, is to expand the Thornton Bank offshore wind farm, located off the Belgian coast, with Suzlon turbines through a €1.3bn investment provided largely by commercial banks.

During the two expansion phases, 48 wind turbines each with a generating capacity 6.15MW will be supplied by REpower Systems, the German unit of India-based turbine producer Suzlon.
The construction of the second and third phases of the project will see additional output of 295MW be built.
RWE Innogy holds 26.73 per cent of the consortium and is responsible for constructing the offshore wind farm some 30km off the coast near Ostend.
Thornton Bank is the largest offshore wind farm in Europe being projected financed by banks.
A group of seven commercial banks and the European Investment Bank as well as the German and Danish Export Credit Agencies are providing in the region of €900m.
Once complete, Thornton Bank offshore wind farm will have an installed output of 325MW and supply 600,000 Belgian customers each year.
Professor Fritz Vahrenholt, chairman of the board of directors for RWE Innogy, said, ‘We have already gathered a lot of positive experience from the first phase at Thornton Bank.
‘The first six of the 5MW turbines installed there boast an availability of approximately 97 per cent. That’s a fantastic result and makes us confident of achieving the transition from a pilot location to a large-scale commercial operation with expansion phases two and three.’
The initial phase of Thornton Bank has been operating with an output of 30MW since June 2009.
These will be constructed in water ranging from 12 to 25 metres in depth on steel framework foundations.
Marin Skiba, director of offshore wind at RWE Innogy, said, ‘A groundbreaking project like Thornton Bank 1 gives another massive boost to our offshore credentials, bringing us ever closer to our goal of being one of the three largest operators of offshore wind farms in the world by 2014.’