Crown Estate Welcomes GIB’s Investment

The Crown Estate has welcomed announcement by the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) to commit £461 million into two of the country’s largest offshore wind projects.

The government-backed bank announced that it is to take equity stakes in both the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire and the Gwynt y Môr project off the coast of north Wales.

GIB said it would invest £241 million alongside Japan’s Marubeni Corporation as part of a £500 million deal to purchase a 50 per cent stake in the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm from developer DONG Energy. The project, which is expected to provide 210 MW of capacity and generate over 800 GWh of renewable energy a year, is in the early stages of construction. It will become the first project in the UK to use Siemens next generation 6 MW turbines that are expected to increase output and reduce the cost of offshore wind energy, compared to previous smaller turbines.

The GIB also announced that it has agreed to acquire a 10 per cent stake in Gwynt y Môr from RWE Innogy in a deal worth £220 million.

Huub den Rooijen, Head of Offshore Wind said: “Confidence in the UK’s offshore wind sector continues to go from strength to strength with today’s announcement by the Green Investment Bank of a £461 million investment in two major projects with a combined potential capacity to power more than half a million homes. The financing of the construction of Westermost Rough together with Marubeni Corporation, which will deploy Siemens’ newest and largest 6 MW turbines, is a clear signal to the market that the sector is coming of age.

“This is further good news following last week’s announcement by Siemens that it will invest £160 million in offshore wind turbine production on the Humber and highlights the pivotal role that offshore wind has to play in helping tackle the nation’s ‘energy trilemma’ – price stability, tough carbon reduction targets and supporting a sustainable and secure energy supply.”

Press Release, April 01, 2014; Image: flickr