The four partners, which will each hold a quarter of the program, secured a 1.37 billion-pound debt facility to fund the wind farm from a group of 12 commercial banks and the European Investment Bank, RWE’s Innogy unit said Friday in a regulatory statement.
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Construction of the wind farm, which will be located about 27 kilometres (17 miles) off the coast of Suffolk in eastern England and produce power for up to 336,000 homes, will begin in November, with operation expected to start in March 2018.
However, in early 2014, SSE pulled out of the project during a raft of cost cutting measures. About 700 jobs will be created during construction of Galloper, with 90 permanent jobs once it’s operational, Siemens said.
Andrea Leadsom, government energy minister, said: “This is fantastic news for the region and the whole of the United Kingdom, reflecting the fact that we are open for business and the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind”.
“The U.K.is still a strong market for offshore renewables”, RWE Innogy Chief Executive Officer Hans Buenting said in the statement. BNP Paribas acted as financial advisor to the project. We are delighted that 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.
Siemens (Berlin and Munich) has received its first order for the new 7MW offshore wind turbine as the company will supply, install and commission 47 direct drive wind turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 154 meters.
“Macquarie Capital bring considerable worldwide business and finance acumen as well as a strong track record advising and investing in infrastructure and energy projects globally”.
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Ed Northam, head of investment banking for GIB, said: “This is another significant milestone in the development of the United Kingdom offshore wind industry in a year that has already seen two major projects come online and construction commence on another”. Galloper offshore wind farm The Galloper Offshore Wind Farm consists of 56 Siemens 6MW wind turbines with a total capacity of approximately 340 megawatts.
