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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - The U.K. arm of German energy giant RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen) has sold a 10% stake in the planned Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm in Wales to the government's Green Investment Bank (GiB) for 265 million ($365 million).
The transaction will close when the construction of Gwynt y Môr is completed at the end of the year. At 576-megawatts (MW), Gwynt y Môr is one of the largest offshore windfarms currently under construction in Europe. The first of 160 turbine foundations went in during September 2012. When commissioned it will be capable of generating enough power for approximately 400,000 homes - a third of the all the homes in Wales. The project will cost an estimated 2 billion ($2.5 billion). For additional information, see September 12, 2012, article - Welsh Offshore Windfarm Takes Shape.
Shaun Kingsbury, Chief Executive, U.K. Green Investment Bank, said: "The U.K. has ambitious plans to build on its position as a world leader in offshore wind. We have two roles to play in supporting those plans. Firstly, to directly invest to help developers recycle their capital into the next wave of new renewable energy projects. Secondly, to invest on fully commercial terms to create a demonstration effect which others will follow."
"This is planned to be the second direct investment from the Green Investment Bank into one of our U.K. offshore wind farms," added Dr. Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy. "By continuing to open up our projects to investors, we maintain our stated objective of being a trusted partner for the transformation of the European energy system, within which the U.K. has a key role."
It has not been all plain sailing for RWE renewable projects in the U.K., however. In December, the company pulled the plug on the massive 1,500 MW Atlantic Array Project proposed for the Bristol Channel, blaming technical difficulties over building in deeper waters and adverse seabed conditions. For additional information, see December 2, 2013, article - RWE Scraps Giant U.K. Offshore Windfarm.
U.K. Business Secretary, Vince Cable, commented on the GiB investment in Gwynt y Môr: "The Green Investment Bank is playing a game-changing role in financing our transition to a green economy. The Bank has now invested well over £600 million in five offshore wind farms and mobilised £1.3 billion of total funding. This industry has the potential to generate thousands of new skilled jobs and billions in business investment. Both the Westermost Rough and Gwynt y Môr projects will use Siemens turbines which demonstrates why their decision last week to build new manufacturing facilities in the U.K. was so important."
The investment in Gwynt t Môr is good news the offshore sector in the U.K. which has been rocked in recent weeks by a number of large project cancellations. Last week, SSE plc (Perth, Scotland) drastically reduced its interests in a number of large offshore wind projects worth over 24 billion ($32.9 billion) blaming limited government support and concerns over return on investment. For additional information, see March 31, 2014, article - SSE Slashes Offshore Wind Plans.
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Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
The transaction will close when the construction of Gwynt y Môr is completed at the end of the year. At 576-megawatts (MW), Gwynt y Môr is one of the largest offshore windfarms currently under construction in Europe. The first of 160 turbine foundations went in during September 2012. When commissioned it will be capable of generating enough power for approximately 400,000 homes - a third of the all the homes in Wales. The project will cost an estimated 2 billion ($2.5 billion). For additional information, see September 12, 2012, article - Welsh Offshore Windfarm Takes Shape.
Shaun Kingsbury, Chief Executive, U.K. Green Investment Bank, said: "The U.K. has ambitious plans to build on its position as a world leader in offshore wind. We have two roles to play in supporting those plans. Firstly, to directly invest to help developers recycle their capital into the next wave of new renewable energy projects. Secondly, to invest on fully commercial terms to create a demonstration effect which others will follow."
"This is planned to be the second direct investment from the Green Investment Bank into one of our U.K. offshore wind farms," added Dr. Hans Bünting, CEO of RWE Innogy. "By continuing to open up our projects to investors, we maintain our stated objective of being a trusted partner for the transformation of the European energy system, within which the U.K. has a key role."
It has not been all plain sailing for RWE renewable projects in the U.K., however. In December, the company pulled the plug on the massive 1,500 MW Atlantic Array Project proposed for the Bristol Channel, blaming technical difficulties over building in deeper waters and adverse seabed conditions. For additional information, see December 2, 2013, article - RWE Scraps Giant U.K. Offshore Windfarm.
U.K. Business Secretary, Vince Cable, commented on the GiB investment in Gwynt y Môr: "The Green Investment Bank is playing a game-changing role in financing our transition to a green economy. The Bank has now invested well over £600 million in five offshore wind farms and mobilised £1.3 billion of total funding. This industry has the potential to generate thousands of new skilled jobs and billions in business investment. Both the Westermost Rough and Gwynt y Môr projects will use Siemens turbines which demonstrates why their decision last week to build new manufacturing facilities in the U.K. was so important."
The investment in Gwynt t Môr is good news the offshore sector in the U.K. which has been rocked in recent weeks by a number of large project cancellations. Last week, SSE plc (Perth, Scotland) drastically reduced its interests in a number of large offshore wind projects worth over 24 billion ($32.9 billion) blaming limited government support and concerns over return on investment. For additional information, see March 31, 2014, article - SSE Slashes Offshore Wind Plans.
View Plant Profile - 1071102
View Project Report - 78000410
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and nine international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
