Ocean Winds has secured £2bn of non-recourse project finance and reached financial close on its 882MW Moray West offshore wind farm off north-east Scotland.
The project has been supported to reach this stage by its primary sponsor Ocean Winds, a JV between EDP Renewables and Engie, and by Ignitis Group as minority shareholder, the company said.
Moray West is the first UK offshore wind farm to rely in majority on corporate power purchase agreements (CPPAs) for the commercialisation of its output.
CPPAs were signed with long-term strategic partners, for more than 50% of the project’s output, enabling the rapid progress of the project.
The CPPAs were originated in partnership with Engie and represent the largest contracts of their kind implemented in the UK market to date, Ocean Winds said.
A Contract for Difference (CfD) was secured for a third of the installed capacity in the UK Allocation Round 4 (AR4) to commercialise the remainder of the project’s output. Moray West is the first CfD AR4 offshore project to reach financial close.
Financial close allows the project to move to secure the remaining elements of supply chain activity in preparation for offshore installation works in later 2023.
The project is set to be generating full power by 2025.
Moray West remains on track to deliver low-cost renewable energy, supporting the UK and Scottish renewable energy targets and providing the equivalent of 1.33 million households a year with access to long-term, low-cost, low-carbon electricity.
Country manager for Ocean Winds in the UK Adam Morrison said: “We are delighted to have reached this important milestone following the shareholders’ early support for a bold development strategy.
“Reaching financial close demonstrates the confidence that the financial markets have in the strength of the project and its delivery partners.
“The project team can now focus their combined efforts and expertise to deliver the project on time.
“In Scotland the significant economic successes include the use of the key ports of Invergordon and Nigg, together with our long-term commitment to investing in Buckie as the operations and maintenance base.”