WindMW Announces Financing Completion for 'Meerwind,' Germany's Largest Fully Financed Offshore Wind Farm/Permit Obtained for Second North Sea Project
(firmenpresse) - The Blackstone Group Germany GmbH / Key word(s): Energy/
WindMW Announces Financing Completion for 'Meerwind,' Germany's
Largest Fully Financed Offshore Wind Farm/Permit Obtained for Second
North Sea Project
DGAP-Media / 05.08.2011 / 14:53
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- First offshore wind project to reach financial closing under German KfW
programme
- 80 turbines, 288 Megawatts offshore wind farm, fully financed project -
largest wind farm to operate in Germany upon completion
- Total investment of EUR1.2 billion - equipment orders placed immediately,
construction to be completed by 2013
- Acquisition of permit to construct an additional offshore wind farm in
the Nördlicher Grund
New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt - 5 August 2011 WindMW GmbH ('WindMW'),
a company majority owned by funds managed by Blackstone (NYSE: BX), has
completed the financing for 'Meerwind,' the largest German offshore wind
farm to complete its full financing process. Meerwind is also the first
German wind farm to be fully financed by private investors. The 80 turbine
wind farm will be situated approximately 50 km off the German coast in the
North Sea. Construction of the 288MW offshore wind farm will be completed
in 2013. Once finished, Meerwind will produce sufficient power to service
approximately 400,000 households and will help Germany eliminate
approximately one million tons of carbon emissions per year. This is only
the second German offshore wind farm to complete its financing and is the
first to close under the recently unveiled Offshore Wind Programme, the KfW
programme.
A group of seven commercial lenders, including Commerzbank, KfW IPEX-Bank,
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Dexia, Lloyds Banking Group, Santander and
Siemens Bank together with EKF, the export credit agency of Denmark, and
KfW-Bankengruppe, will provide total financing of EUR822 million for the
project, with a total investment cost of EUR1.2 billion. Affiliates of
Blackstone Capital Partners VI L.P. and Blackstone Energy Partners L.P.
will provide substantially all of the project's invested equity. The other
partner in the project is Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH, the project's
initial permit holder.
The investment funds the installation of 80 substructures (monopile
foundations) with Siemens 3.6MW-120 wind turbines, the laying of infield
cables, as well as the installation of the offshore high voltage
substation. Connection to the main grid, as per German law, will be
undertaken by the grid operator Tennet TSO GmbH.
'The German government has demonstrated tremendous leadership in supporting
private offshore wind development and we are pleased that Meerwind is the
first project to reach financial close under the visionary KfW programme.
With the development of Meerwind, we are able to support Germany in meeting
it's green energy targets.' said Peter Giller, WindMW Board Member. 'I want
to thank our lenders who have been great partners throughout this process.'
'The German regulatory framework is well designed and essential to the
development of the tremendous and as yet largely untapped resource that
offshore wind represents,' added David Foley, Blackstone Senior Managing
Director and CEO of Blackstone Energy Partners. 'This project exemplifies
the progress and positive impact on the economy that can be achieved when
private capital works in partnership with government, entrepreneurs and
industry.'
'The entry of new stakeholders into the offshore wind business will clearly
boost the massive development of energy from the sea,' said Jens-Peter
Saul, CEO of Business Unit Siemens Wind Power. 'We are pleased that
Blackstone and WindMW are committed to the development of offshore wind
farms in Germany and look forward to cooperating on the 'Meerwind'
project.'
'The BSH (Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency) welcomes this
announcement which is a considerable milestone for the construction of this
offshore wind energy project. By licensing projects such as 'Meerwind' BSH
supports a successful realization of this project in order to contribute to
the renewable energy targets of the Federal Government of Germany,' says
Christian Dahlke, responsible for Offshore Wind Energy at BSH.
As part of Blackstone's long-term commitment to investing in the German
offshore wind industry, Blackstone today also announces the acquisition of
a permit to construct the Nördlicher Grund wind farm. The 64 turbine wind
farm with an estimated construction cost of EUR1.3 billion will be situated
approximately 100 km off the German coast in the North Sea. Construction is
expected to commence in 2013 with completion in 2016.
'The acquisition of the Nördlicher Grund permit coupled with today's
financial closing of our Meerwind project demonstrate Blackstone's
continued commitment to the development of the German offshore wind
industry,' said Sean Klimczak, Managing Director of The Blackstone Group.
'We believe WindMW and its talented management team represent a unique
platform behind which we can continue to invest significant capital and
actively contribute to the acceleration of Germany's shift from legacy fuel
types to renewable resources.'
WindMW was established in 2008 as a Blackstone portfolio company to develop
German offshore wind farms. The Meerwind concession area is 50 km off the
coast of Germany, Northwest of Helgoland. Meerwind first obtained the
permit to build its wind park in 2007 from the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt
und Hydrologie (BSH).
WindMW was advised by Green Giraffe Energy Bankers, KfW-IPEX and Dexia
(financing), Gleiss Lutz (legal), NWA (insurance), Ernst&Young (tax).
The lenders were advised by Watson, Farley&Williams (legal&tax), Sgurr
Energy (technical), PKF (model audit), JLT (insurance) and IPA (power
market).
ENDS
About Blackstone
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) is one of the world's leading investment and advisory
firms and is an experienced and active investor in the energy and natural
resources sector. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term
value for our investors, the companies we invest in, the companies we
advise and the broader global economy. We do this through the commitment of
our extraordinary people and flexible capital. Our alternative asset
management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real
estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-oriented funds and closed-end
mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory
services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and
reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information is
available at www.blackstone.com. Follow us on Twitter (at)Blackstone.
About Windland
Windland was founded in 1990 as one of the first dedicated wind power
developers in Germany. Since 2000, Windland has concentrated on offshore
wind development and were the original developers of the project.
Contact:
Blackstone
Christine Anderson
The Blackstone Group
(212) 583-5263
(646) 943-3404
Christine.Anderson(at)blackstone.com
Blackstone
Helen Winning
London
+44 (20) 7451 4344
winning(at)blackstone.com
CNC - Communications&Network Consulting
Alexander Styles
Frankfurt
+49 69 5060 375 79
Alexander.Styles(at)cnc-communications.com
End of Media Release
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134544 05.08.2011
Datum: 05.08.2011 - 14:53 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 42587
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