OREANDA-NEWS. November 03, 2015.

New partnership heralds green light for Galloper Offshore Wind Farm

·      Four-way international partnership secures 1.5 billion UK renewable energy project

·      Significant boost to UK economy creating nearly 800 jobs

·      Project can generate enough clean energy for up to 336,000 homes1) 

RWE Innogy has announced three new project partners for Galloper Wind Farm Ltd (GWFL).  UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital, join RWE Innogy in becoming 25% joint equity partners of the 336MW Galloper Offshore wind project.  Combining the expertise and experience of all four companies, the deal will enable construction of the project off the coast of Suffolk, to commence in November 2015.  The debt financing for GWFL was also closed.  A consortium of 12 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank2)  provides the ?1.37 billion debt facilities.  BNP Paribas acted as financial advisor to the project.

The project's go ahead is set to create around 700 jobs during construction and around 90 jobs once operational. 

Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom said:  "This is fantastic news for the region and the whole of the UK, reflecting the fact that we are open for business and the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind. This milestone shows how the UK's offshore wind industry is going from strength to strength."

Hans Binting, CEO of RWE Innogy said:  "Today's announcement is the culmination of many months of successful negotiations with our partners and investors and shows that the UK is still a strong market for offshore renewables. Siemens, as well as becoming a project partner will also, through their technical division, support key aspects of the project including turbines, turbine installation and maintenance support. We welcome GIB, with their experience of supporting renewables ventures and their substantial knowledge of offshore wind financing, back to another offshore partnership, their first ever equity investment being a stake in our Rhyl Flats project. Macquarie Capital bring considerable international business and finance acumen as well as a strong track record advising and investing in infrastructure and energy projects globally. I look forward to working together to utilise our collective experience and expertise to realise the successful construction of Galloper wind farm."

As part of the overall partnership agreement, Siemens will supply and install 56, six megawatt turbines for the GWFL project and deliver a 15 year maintenance contract.

Wolfgang Bischoff, Head of Energy Finance EMEA at Siemens Financial Services said: "Again we will work alongside some of the offshore wind industry's most experienced players on a project that will make a significant contribution to the UK's renewable energy goals. Achieving financial close quickly was an essential component for Galloper to remain on-track in regards to construction as well as becoming operational in time to qualify from the government's Renewable Obligation Certificate subsidies. The speed in which it was achieved owes much to the hard work of our project partners, as well as the strong market confidence in Siemens' technical and financial experience in this sector."

The Green Investment Bank, which was created by the UK Government, its sole shareholder, continues its purpose to accelerate the UK's transition to a greener, stronger economy with this latest partnership, which is the UK's first  pre-construction, offshore wind project, finance deal.

Ed Northam, Head of Investment Banking, UK Green Investment Bank, said:

"This is another significant milestone in the development of the UK offshore wind industry in a year that has already seen two major projects come online and construction commence on another. The transaction reinforces our relationship with RWE and further highlights the impressive list of companies that are investing in the sector. It is the second investment in offshore wind that GIB has made at FID in the space of six months, demonstrating the role that we continue to play in making sure that complex but important green infrastructure projects can proceed."

Macquarie Capital, the principal investment, advisory and capital markets arm of Macquarie Group, furthers its ongoing interest in the European renewables market following today's announcement. 

Mark Dooley, Head of Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables, Macquarie Capital Europe said: "Macquarie Capital is delighted to partner with RWE Innogy, Siemens and GIB on Galloper  Offshore Wind project.  This investment demonstrates our commitment to the European offshore wind sector as part of our strategy to invest alongside clients in energy and infrastructure transactions.

Mark Muldowney, Managing Director, Energy & Infrastructure, BNP Paribas said "The strong support of the financial markets for the Galloper project demonstrates the depth and capacity of the market for well-structured deals with respected sponsors."

The Galloper project which will be located close to its existing sister project Greater Gabbard off the Suffolk coast, was awarded development rights by The Crown Estate in May 2010 and will commence operations by March 2018.

To view the GWFL financial close Video News Release click on:  https://youtu.be/_k8bLxdB5bI 

For more information visit our website: www.galloperwindfarm.com

Notes to editor

Galloper Wind Farm Limited

Galloper offshore wind farm is an extension of the existing and fully operational Greater Gabbard Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk. Following community consultation, in-depth site investigations and a thorough examination by the Planning Inspectorate, Galloper was awarded Development Consent in May 2013 by the Secretary of State.  The wind farm, which has grid connection secured, represents an expected investment potential of around  ?1.5 billion. It is estimated that the average annual generation expected at the site will be equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of  around 336,000 average UK households.Following the exit of SSE from the project in April 2014, negotiations with potential investors and partners commenced.   Initial onshore enabling works for the project were carried out in 2014, the same year the project was awarded a grace period of one year under the Renewable Obligation regime.  Following Financial Close of the project in October 2015 the GWFL project announced the  equal joint equity partnership of 25% each between RWE Innogy UK, UK Green Investment Bank, Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital.

RWE Innogy

RWE Innogy pools the renewable energy expertise and generating plant of the RWE Group. RWE Innogy is fully committed to growth in renewable energy across Europe and the UK continues to play a significant role. Earlier this year RWE Innogy UK inaugurated the world's second largest offshore wind farm, Gwynt y M?r, off the coast of North Wales.  RWE Innogy UK is a sister company to RWE npower, a leading UK energy company. For further information about RWE Innogy UK and RWE Innogy visit www.rwe.com and www.rweinnogy.com  For further information about RWE npower visit www.rwenpower.com

Siemens Financial Services

Siemens Financial Services (SFS) provides business-to-business financial solutions. SFS helps facilitate investments, providing commercial finance, project and structured finance with specific asset expertise in the growth fields of electrification, automation and digitalization. Employing more than 3,000 employees worldwide, SFS supports Siemens as well as other companies with their capital needs and acts as an expert manager of financial risks within the Siemens company. For more information, visit: www.siemens.com/finance.

UK Green Investment Bank

UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) was launched in November 2012. With ?3.8bn of funding from the UK Government, it is the first bank of its kind in the world. It is a "for profit" bank, whose mission is to accelerate the UK's transition to a greener economy, and to create an enduring institution, operating independently of Government. GIB is wholly owned by HM Government. The Company is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority or the Prudential Regulation Authority. A wholly owned subsidiary UK Green Investment Bank Financial Services Limited, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. www.greeninvestmentbank.com 

Macquarie Capital

Macquarie Group is a global provider of banking, financial, advisory, investment and funds management services. Founded in 1969, Macquarie operates in more than 65 office locations in 28 countries and employs more than 14,000 people. Assets under management total approximately €345 billion at 31 March, 2015.  Macquarie Capital is the advisory, capital markets and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group. Macquarie Capital provides strategic M&A and capital raising advice as well as partnering with clients to provide capital to facilitate transactions through equity co-investment and lending, including working closely with contractors, developers and utilities in the construction of greenfield infrastructure projects. Macquarie Capital has a strong track record of principal investing alongside clients having invested approximately ?1.4 billion in 100 deals globally across a range of industries, structures and jurisdictions since 2008.

Footnotes

1)     Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and correlating to suitable reanalysis weather data  providing longer term data. The calculations are based on an installed capacity of  up to 336MW.  The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further data are gathered.  Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4500 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household figures from the UK Statistics Authority.

2)     The 12 commercial banks include:  ABN AMRO Bank; BNP Paribas; Cr?dit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank; ING Bank ; Landesbank Hessen-Th?ringen Girozentrale; Lloyds Bank plc; Natixis, London Branch; Santander Global Banking & Markets; Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken; Societe Generale; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.