Parkwind secures funding for 257-MW Arcadis Ost 1 floating wind farm

Belgium-based Parkwind has secured funding from multiple financial institutions to implement its first renewable energy project outside the country. The company will use a €150 million (US$177.8 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to construct its $675.9 million Arcadis Ost 1 wind farm.

Other financial institutions supporting the German wind farm include KBC, Belfius, Helaba, KfW, IPEX-Bank, Rabobank, Société Général, ING and EKF. EIB is providing the loan through its European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe.

Offshore installation work is due to begin in 2022, and the wind farm, which will generate power for the equivalent of 290,000 households, is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

New, entirely floating platforms will be used to erect the windmills in the Baltic Sea northeast of the island of Rügen. The new technology is expected to be more efficient on difficult seabeds than the jack-up vessels that have normally been used.

The project is set for rollout once Parkwind secures regulatory approval from the government of the federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in March 2021. Parkwind secured a tender to implement the project in 2018.

“Offshore wind farms are a cornerstone of the EU Green Deal to help reach the goal of a net-zero-emissions economy in Europe,” said EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who is responsible for the environment, climate action and the circular economy and has oversight of EIB operations in Germany.

“Being joined by such a strong group of lenders gives us further confidence in the pursuit of our mission and our ambition to grow internationally,” said Eric Antoons, co-chief executive officer of Parkwind.

Energy minister of the German federal state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Christian Pegel said: “Since the approval of the first offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea in 2011, offshore wind has not only contributed to the energy transition, but also to enormous economic development in our region. With Arcadis Ost 1, now the fourth offshore wind farm off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we are continuing this success story. In the future, we want to use offshore wind to generate climate-neutral hydrogen, making our region even more attractive for new business settlements.”

Source: Renewable Energy