Northwester 2 Reaches Financial Close

Northwester 2 has reached the official close of financial agreements with all key stakeholders and banks for the construction of the 219MW Northwester 2 offshore wind farm in the Belgian North Sea.

With the financing secured, the project developers plan to start the construction works in the spring of 2019.

The project has raised approximately EUR 700 million funded by its shareholders and financial institutions. The European Investment Bank is committing EUR 210 million as part of its support for investments in renewable energy, partially guaranteed under the Juncker Plan. The Danish export credit agency EKF guarantees EUR 100 million of that facility.

The commercial lenders involved are BNP Paribas Fortis, Rabobank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ASN Bank, Belfius Bank, Triodos Bank, ING Bank, Société Général and KBC Bank.

Located 50 kilometres off the coast of Ostend, the Northwester 2 wind farm will be the first to feature MHI Vestas 9.5MW wind turbines. The project is owned by Parkwind and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation.

Northwester 2 has contracted the services of Jan de Nul for the fabrication and installation of foundations and for wind turbine installation.

The Offshore High Voltage Station designer and fabricator Bladt, the inter-array cable manufacturer NSW and the export cable manufacturer Nexans complete the list of key suppliers.