It is reported that WindMW GmbH, 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. Meerwind is also the first German wind farm to be fully financed by private investors. The 80 turbine wind farm will be situated approximately 50 kilometers off the German coast in the North Sea.
Construction of the 288 MW offshore wind farm will be completed in 2013. Once finished, Meerwind will produce sufficient power to service approximately 400,000 households and will help Germany eliminate approximately one million tons of carbon emissions per year. 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 Program, the KfW program.
A group of seven commercial lenders, 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, will provide total financing of EUR 822 million for the project, with a total investment cost of EUR 1.2 billion. Affiliates of Blackstone Capital Partners VI LP and Blackstone Energy Partners L.P. will provide substantially all of the project's invested equity. The other partner in the project is Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH, the project's initial permit holder.
The investment funds the installation of 80 substructures with Siemens 3.6 MW 120 wind turbines, the laying of infield cables, as well as the installation of the offshore high voltage substation. Connection to the main grid, as per German law, will be undertaken by the grid operator Tennet TSO GmbH.
Mr Peter Giller board member at WindMW said that "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 program. With the development of Meerwind, we are able to support Germany in meeting its green energy targets. I want to thank our lenders who have been great partners throughout this process."
Mr David Foley senior managing director & CEO of Blackstone Energy Partners said that "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. 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."
