Română
English
Blackstone, one of the world's biggest private equity firms, is set to invest €2.5bn into what will become Germany's largest ever offshore wind farm.
WindMW, a company majority owned by funds managed by Blackstone, has completed the financing for Meerwind, the largest German offshore wind farm to complete its full financing process.
The €1.2bn Meerwind project will be in part financed by a €822m loan from seven banks, including Commerzbank, KfW IPEX-Bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Dexia, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander and Siemens Bank together with EKF, the export credit agency of Denmark, and KfW-Bankengruppe.
Meerwind is the first German wind farm to be fully financed by private investors. This is only the second German offshore wind farm to complete its financing and is the first to close under the recently unveiled Offshore Wind Programme, a KfW scheme.
Japan's nuclear woes in March caused Germany's political leaders to draw away from this power source, putting offshore wind central in providing baseload power to the country.
The investment funds the installation of 80 substructures (monopile foundations) with Siemens 3.6MW-120 wind turbines, the laying of infield cables, as well as the installation of the offshore high voltage substation, Blackstone said in a statement.
'The German government has demonstrated tremendous leadership in supporting private offshore wind development and we are pleased that Meerwind is the first project to reach financial close under the visionary KfW programme. With the development of Meerwind, we are able to support Germany in meeting it's green energy targets,' said Peter Giller, WindMW board member. 'I want to thank our lenders who have been great partners throughout this process.'
The private equity firm is also expected to be the initial recipient of a scheme that will provide government loans to ten privately financed offshore wind projects, according to the Financial Times.
'The German regulatory framework is well designed and essential to the development of the tremendous and as yet largely untapped resource that offshore wind represents,' said David Foley, Blackstone senior managing director and CEO of Blackstone Energy Partners. 'This project exemplifies the progress and positive impact on the economy that can be achieved when private capital works in partnership with government, entrepreneurs and industry.'
Alongside this €1.2bn deal, is a €1.3bn commitment to acquire the permit to construct the Nördlicher Grund wind farm.
The 64 turbine wind farm with an estimated construction cost of €1.3bn will be situated approximately 100km off the German coast in the North Sea. Construction is expected to commence in 2013 with completion in 2016, Blackstone said.
'The acquisition of the Nördlicher Grund permit coupled with today's financial closing of our Meerwind project demonstrate Blackstone's continued commitment to the development of the German offshore wind industry,' said Sean Klimczak, managing director of The Blackstone Group. 'We believe WindMW and its talented management team represent a unique platform behind which we can continue to invest significant capital and actively contribute to the acceleration of Germany's shift from legacy fuel types to renewable resources.'
Other notable German offshore wind projects include the Alpha Ventus, Bard and Baltic installations.
In 2010, wind accounted for six per cent of the country's total electricity generation.
This will be the largest investment by Blackstone into the renewables sector but it is by no means its first. In the US, it has invested in prominent transmission operator Transmission Developers, which recently won support for a $2bn offshore wind transmission line to bring clean power back to New York.
