John Laing Group, an active investor and manager of infrastructure projects, has acquired a 30% stake in a 110.7-MW Nordergründe offshore wind farm project in the German North Sea, just north of the city of Wilhelmshaven.
The Nordergründe project will be delivered and operated by the wpd Group, a large German developer and operator of onshore and offshore wind farms. Power generation will come from 18 Senvion 6.2 M126 turbines. All foundation piles have been installed and turbine erection is underway.
All foundation piles have been installed and turbine erection (which includes 18 Senvion 6.2 M126 turbines) is now underway at Germany’s Nordergründe offshore wind farm.
So far the grid connection is in place, onshore cable and substation works have been completed, and offshore cabling has already begun for the project. Nordergründe will benefit from the German feed-in-tariff, and construction is expected to be completed in Q2 2017.
The project is John Laing’s second German wind investment and its first investment in offshore wind. It achieved financial close in June 2015 with senior debt being provided by the European Investment Bank, KfW IPEX Bank, and other commercial lenders. In addition to John Laing, other shareholders in Nordergründe are wpd AG (30%) and Gothaer Leben Renewables GmbH (40%).
John Laing received financial advice from Green Giraffe, technical advice from DNV GL, legal advice came from CMS and Tax and accounting advice from PwC.
“The Nordergründe offshore wind project in Germany is an important step for John Laing into a new market where we see a significant opportunity, and in a country we want to continue to invest into,” shared Ross McArthur, Managing Director of Renewable Energy for John Laing. “We are pleased to be working with a partner of the quality of wpd given their track record of successful development of offshore wind projects and their skilled and experienced team.”
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