ELDEPASCO NORTHWIND OFFSHORE WIND

216 MW offshore wind farm located 37km from the Belgian coast

The project aims at assisting Belgium to meet EU and national targets for energy generated from renewable energy sources.

An offshore wind farm falls by virtue of its technical characteristics under Annex II of Directive 85/337/EEC (as by 97/11/EC 2003/35/EC). As the project is however located in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of the North Sea, it is also subject to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS") and national regulations concerning installation activities in the sea, making an EIA mandatory under national law. An EIA has been carried out and submitted to the Belgian competent authorities. The Bank will review the EIA during appraisal, including a verification of any effects on nature conservation sites.

The wind farm concession has been awarded on the basis of objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria according to national legislation. Thus, the project does not enjoy special or exclusive rights and is not subject to EU Procurement Directives. The Bank will however ensure that the procurement procedures to be applied comply with the Bank's principles and its statute, i.e. works, goods and services will be appropriately selected and are offered at competitive prices. Details will be verified during appraisal.

The Risk Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF) is an innovative credit risk sharing scheme jointly set up by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to improve access to debt financing for private companies or public institutions promoting activities with a higher financial risk profile in the fields of research, technological development, demonstration and innovation investments.