The parent company of German grid operator 50Hertz has issued a €750m green bond to finance the grid connections for the 1500MW Ostwind 1 and 2 offshore grid links.
Eurogrid’s bond has a 12-year term and an interest rate of 1.113% and attracted subscribers from Germany, Great Britain, France, the Benelux countries and Scandinavia.
Ostwind 1 and 2 are in line with the EU Action Plan on Climate Change, said Eurogrid.
The green bond complies with the principles of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).
Ostwind 1 is already operational and connects the Wikinger and Arkona wind farms via two offshore platforms with the Lubmin substation in the Bay of Greifswald.
In Ostwind 2 nearby wind farms Arcadis Ost 1 and Baltic Eagle will be connected to the German high voltage grid.
50Hertz plans to jointly build two further offshore platforms together with the wind farm operators and three 220kV alternate current submarine cable systems.
50Hertz chief financial officer Marco Nix said: “With the first green bond in our company’s history, we are securing part of the necessary investments in the grid infrastructure over the next few years.
“In view of the difficult economic environment caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the financial markets with their great interest in our company show that they have a high level of confidence in our sustainability strategy and investment plans.
“The transaction is an important cornerstone in driving forward the expansion of our grid and thus the energy transition. It strengthens our motivation to consistently pursuing this sustainable path.”
The shareholders of Eurogrid are the Belgian Elia Group (80%) and KfW Bankengruppe with 20%.