Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund (EIFO) will provide a £500m ($672m) project finance guarantee for the development of ScottishPower Renewables’ East Anglia Three offshore wind farm in the UK.
The guarantee will finance part of the project’s cost, projected at around £4.5bn. The wind farm off the coast of Suffolk is part of the East Anglia wind cluster and will be operational by the end of 2026.
It will consist of 95 14.7MW wind turbines, enabling it to reach an installed capacity of nearly 1.4GW and generate clean energy for more than 1.3m homes. The entire East Anglia wind cluster is expected to reach a total capacity of 3.8GW.
Cadeler is responsible for the installation of the turbines, while NKT will deliver and install the cable infrastructure.
ScottishPower Renewables is a subsidiary of Spain’s energy giant Iberdrola. Previously, the Spanish firm has financed projects such as this on its own, but this time the company specifically requested EIFO’s participation.
“It is a project finance structure backed by 23 international financial institutions, plus the significant participation of EIFO, which adds an additional level of strength. It reflects not only the quality of the project, but also Iberdrola’s ability to mobilise capital with key international players such as EIFO,” said Jose Sainz Armanda, CFO of Iberdrola.
The participating banks are BBVA, HSBC, ING, NatWest, SMBC, MUFG, Bank of China, Crédit Agricole, CaixaBank, Santander, BNP Paribas, Helaba, Barclays, ANZ, Rabobank, FAB, ICO, Abanca, Kutxabank, Standard Chartered Bank, Bank of Ireland CIC and Siemens Bank.
Crédit Agricole CIB and MUFG have acted as financial advisors for the transaction, and A&O Shearman acted as legal advisors to the borrower.
