The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 156m for the Nordergründe wind farm, which is one of the first offshore wind farm projects developed in Germany. Located in the German coastal part of the North Sea, it will consist of 18 turbines with a total generating capacity of 111 MW. The total cost of this large-scale innovative renewable energy project is EUR 410m.
Nordergründe will be built 16 km off the coast of East Frisia and 14 km east of the island of Wangerooge. The off-shore construction work will commence in March 2016 and is planned to be finished by the end of 2016. The owner and operator of the project is wpd AG, which specialises in renewable energy, particularly wind energy projects in Western, Central and Eastern Europe as well as in Asia.
Wilhelm Molterer, EIB Vice-President with responsibility for lending operations in Germany, said “The financing of renewable energy, particularly offshore wind energy projects, is and will continue to be a key part of the EIB’s work, as it is all about meeting Europe’s ambitious environmental targets. Thus, we are glad to support the Nordergründe project, as it will very much contribute to that, as well as improving the security of energy supply in Europe”.
The EIB is one of the biggest financiers of renewable energy in Europe and has so far provided loans totalling EUR 6.6bn for the offshore wind energy sector alone. For projects of this size it is the long maturities and favourable terms offered by the Bank that operators find attractive. Electricity generation from offshore wind farms can produce electricity with substantially lower environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas emissions.
Photographer: EIB ©Senvion SE
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