A consortium led by DEME Concessions Wind, the infrastructure investment arm of the DEME Group, has decided to move ahead with the development of the 396MW Merkur offshore wind project in the German North Sea.
Planned to be built approximately 45km north of the islands of Borkum, Germany, the wind project is estimated to cost EUR 1.6bn, which was raised from equity investors and bank lenders on a non-recourse project financing basis.
A group of 10 international and local banks have committed to offer €1.2bn in the form of senior secured debt funding to the project.
The lenders’ group comprises comprise KfW Mittelstandsbank, ABN Amro, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Natixis, Rabobank, SEB, SMBC and Société Générale.
The project partners include Swiss investment manager Partners Group with a 50% stake, InfraRed Capital Partners with 25% interest, DEME 12.5%, GE Energy Financial Services 6.25%, and, L’Agence de l’environnement et de la maîtrise de l’énergie (ADEME) 6.25%.
The project will feature 66 GE Haliade 150-6MW wind turbine generators. It is designed to generate approximately 1,750GWh annually, required to power around 500,000 home.
Partners Group partner and co-head private infrastructure Brandon Prater said: "With several coal-fired and nuclear power plants due to be retired across Germany by 2020, Merkur is a timely project and will contribute towards maintaining the country's energy supply, while catering to the long-term shift towards renewables in the power generation mix.”
GeoSea, a member of the DEME Group, is responsible for the construction of the wind project.
Construction work is scheduled to commence immediately, with offshore foundations installation planned to start in August 2017.
Upon completion in March 2019, the project is expected to benefit from the Germany’s offshore feed-in-tariff.
Image: The planned Merkur wind project in the German North Sea will feature 66 GE Haliade wind turbine generators. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.