ARCADIS OST I OFFSHORE WIND GREEN ENERGY LOAN

The project concerns a 257 MW offshore wind farm, comprised of 27 wind turbines with a unit capacity of 9.5 MW located in German territorial waters. In addition, the project is comprised of the inter-array cabling at 35 kV level and a 35/220 kV offshore substation. It will apply monopile foundations for both turbines and offshore substation.

The project concerns a 257 MW offshore wind project located in German territorial waters inside the Baltic Sea, less than 12 nautical miles off the island of Rügen. It is located in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which is a transition region in the Cohesion policy 2014-2020. The project will contribute to Germany's 2030 RE targets and to the integration of renewables in the electricity sector in line with the new EU RE Directive published on 21/12/2018. The Promoter is experienced and has a long track-record in the development, construction and operation of wind farms in Belgium.

The project is located in a dedicated zone for offshore wind development in the German Baltic Sea. Wind farms adhere to Annex II of Directive 2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU, thereby leaving it to the competent authority to determine if an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is mandated. Given the project size, the competent authority required an EIA to be conducted. The project's permit was issued in 2014. Since April 2019, it is subject to an amendment process. During appraisal, the Bank will assess the project's EIA studies and approval process as well as the compliance with the relevant EU directives, including the EIA Directive (2014/52/EU amending the EIA Directive 2011/92/EU), the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) and Birds Directive (2009/147/EC).

The Promoter is a private entity, which received the concession following a competitive and open procedure, and therefore not does not benefit from special and exclusive rights as per the Directive 2014/25/EU. The Promoter has been assessed by the EIB as being a private company not subject to EU rules on public procurement or concessions. However, if after the project appraisal, the EIB were to conclude that the Promoter is after all subject to EU public procurement legislation, then the Bank would require the Promoter to ensure that contracts for the implementation of the project will be tendered in accordance with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation.