by Jerome a Paris
Wed Jul 27th, 2011 at 08:00:38 AM EST
The EWEA has published its semestrial report on offshore wind construction (which can be read here (pdf) and are reported in the Guardian).
I wrote the part on financing for the update, and enclose some extracts below the fold.
Several positive trends can be noted with respect to these transactions and the overall market:
• the number of banks willing to take offshore wind risk is steadily growing - more than 20 institutions have now obtained firm credit committee approval to take offshore wind risk;
• the recently unveiled KfW programme for offshore wind (announced in early June), which will provide up to €5 billion to ten projects in Germany, is a major step towards ensuring the development of non-recourse financing in that country. Two transactions expected to close shortly (Globaltech 1 and Meerwind) have tapped into the programme and will demonstrate its capacity to provide both volume and cheaper funding to the sector;
• Danish export credit agency EKF and the European Investment Bank (EIB) continue to support transac- tions as they did in the past; the arrival of new banks and of KfW is slowly allowing EKF and the EIB to reduce their volume of new commitments, but their participation in new financing is still seen as positive by investors and commercial lenders alike and continues to be sought;
• The UK’s Green Investment Bank, announced in May, should provide additional financing capacity to the industry once it is up and running
