ESB and Red Rock Renewables are on track to reach financial close on the 1100MW Inch Cape wind farm by the end of the week, SR Offshore Wind 2025 has heard.
The project’s head of revenues and stakeholder relations Rosemary Kennedy (pictured) told delegates in Glasgow on Wednesday that an announcement is “imminent”.
The developers have been in discussions with banks since last year and had originally aimed to reach the milestone in 2024.
Financial close will spark finalisation of key tier one contracts.
Kennedy said much of the main fabrication work is already underway, with monopiles being rolled at Chinese yards such as Dajin and substations at Smulders Wallsend yard in north-east England.
She confirmed the selection of COOEC-Fluor to provide jacket foundations and Jan De Nul to install monopiles, as first reported in the 19 December subscriber-only edition of reNEWS.
The latter will deploy a vessel that is leased from RWE, Kennedy told delegates.
Offshore construction at Inch Cape is due to start later this year, with main foundation installation beginning in 2026.
Inch Cape us due to be completed in 2027.