OSLO (Reuters) – British utility SSE and Norwegian energy company Equinor have secured financing to proceed with the construction of the 3 billion pound ($3.98 billion) Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm in Britain, the companies said on Thursday.
Dogger Bank C will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW) and generate about 6,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a year when completed in 2026, the companies said.
It is the third phase of what the partners say will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, with installed capacity of 3,600 MW. The companies said this is enough renewable energy to supply 5% of Britain’s demand, equivalent to six million homes.
The financing deal followed news last week that Dogger Bank C had secured long-term power deals with Danish energy trading company Danske Commodities, oil major Shell and utility Centrica.
The total senior debt facilities agreed are for 2.5 billion pounds, plus ancillary facilities of about 0.4 billion pounds, with a group of lenders comprising 28 banks and three export credit agencies, SSE and Equinor said.
“The significant appetite from lenders underpins the attractiveness of UK offshore wind assets,” said Paal Eitrheim, Equinor’s head of renewables.
The two companies have previously agreed to sell a 20% stake in the Dogger Bank C project to Italy’s Eni, which already owns an equal share in the first two phases of Dogger Bank.
Construction of the first two phases is under way after a financing deal in September 2020.
($1 = 0.7528 pounds)
(Reporting by Nora Buli; Editing by Terje Solsvik and David Goodman)