RWE Innogy says the 336 MW Galloper offshore wind project is officially a go, now that the company has announced three new partners and selected Siemens wind turbines for the project.
UK Green Investment Bank, Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital join RWE Innogy in becoming 25% joint equity partners of the wind farm, to be located off the southeast coast of England. RWE Innogy says the deal will enable construction of the project off the coast of Suffolk to commence in November 2015.
Furthermore, debt financing for the project was closed. A consortium of 12 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank provided the 1.37 billion British pound debt facilities, and BNP Paribas acted as financial advisor to the project.
Hans Bunting, CEO of RWE Innogy, states the announcement is "the culmination of many months of successful negotiations with our partners and investors and shows that the U.K. is still a strong market for offshore renewables."
As part of the overall partnership agreement, Siemens will supply and install 56 of its SWT-6.0-154 turbines for the project and deliver a 15-year maintenance contract.
The Galloper project, which will be located close to its existing sister project Greater Gabbard off the Suffolk coast, was awarded development rights by The Crown Estate in May 2010 and will be online by March 2018. RWE Innogy says the project is set to create around 700 jobs during construction and around 90 jobs once operational.
