Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture between Northland Power and Mitsui & Co., has signed a credit agreement to secure TWD 118 billion (approximately EUR 3.4 billion) long-term over 20-year non-recourse financing for the 1 GW offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
The non-recourse project financing will be provided by over 15 international and local lenders with support from multiple Export Credit Agencies (ECAs) from six different countries.
Hai Long’s total cost is projected to be approximately CAD 9 billion (some EUR 6.2 billion), with funding from its CAD 5 billion (approx. EUR 3.5 billion) of non-recourse debt by the project lenders, about CAD 1 billion (around EUR 698 million) of pre-completion revenues, and the remaining equity investment contributed by the project’s partners, said Northland Power.
Financial close is expected to follow shortly , upon satisfaction of all relevant conditions present to the financing being achieved.
“This financing is Northland’s first in Asia and, once closed, will be the largest non-recourse offshore wind project financing to date in the region,” said Pauline Alimchandani , Northland’s Chief Financial Officer.
The project is Northland’s first offshore wind project in Asia and fifth in Northland’s offshore wind portfolio.
Upon completion of Hai Long and the Baltic Power project, the company’s gross installed offshore wind capacity will nearly triple from 1.2 GW to 3.3 GW.
Hai Long offshore wind project is located approximately 45-70 kilometres off the Changhua coast in the Taiwan Straits and consists of two phases, Hai Long 2 and Hai Long 3.
Hai Long 2A was awarded up to 300 MW of grid capacity under a feed-in tariff, while Hai Long 2B and 3 were awarded up to 744 MW of grid capacity in Taiwan’s first competitive price-based auction in 2018.
The project signed a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) for the 744 MW auction portion in 2022.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
All the necessary permits have been obtained and the early construction work and fabrication of components has already begun, Northland Power said.
Completion of construction activities and full commercial operations are expected in 2026/2027.
In addition, the project secured a 15-year operations and maintenance agreement with the turbine supplier, with options to extend.