Blauwwind consortium reaches financial close on Borssele III/IV

This sets in motion the construction and subsequent operation of 77 V164-9.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbines produced by MHI Vestas, with a total installed capacity of 731.5MW, enough to power some 825,000 households*. Total expected production is 3,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) per year. The main construction work is due to start in the fourth quarter of 2019, with commercial production expected in early 2021.

The consortium partners are Partners Group** (45%), Shell (20%), DGE*** (15%), Eneco Group (10%) and Van Oord (10%). Shell and Eneco Group have also secured 15-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) from the consortium, under which each will buy 50% of the power generated by the wind farms. Van Oord will execute the balance of plant works for the project, consisting of the engineering, procurement and construction of the foundations and inter-array cables. The offshore substation Borssele Beta will be designed and constructed by TenneT.

During the first 15 years of operation, Blauwwind will receive a guaranteed price of €54.49/MWh under the Dutch SDE+ scheme, after which the power will be sold at prevailing rates in the wholesale power market. The project capex for the construction phase is €1.3 billion, part of which will be funded through project finance.

“I am proud of the team that executed the tender and development phase of this project both professionally and passionately,” said Erik de Boer, Blauwwind project director and responsible for the phase up to financial close. Roeland Borsboom has been appointed as project director for the phase up to completion and will now work to continue the momentum behind Borssele III & IV, keeping a focus on safety and a high-quality business case.

“Borssele is an attractive opportunity to invest in a high-quality offshore wind project alongside experienced partners,” said David Daum, senior vice president of Private Infrastructure Europe at Partners Group. “With the Dutch government committed to achieving 16% of its energy production from sustainable sources by 2023 as part of a National Renewable Energy Action Plan, we believe the project is both timely and critical in helping the country achieve that aim.”

“Offshore wind has the potential to be by far the largest renewable resource in North West Europe. Borssele III & IV will allow us to demonstrate our expertise and experience of large, integrated offshore projects,” said Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of New Energies at Shell. “This important investment is part of Shell’s New Energies strategy, where we expect to invest an average of $1-2 billion a year until 2020 in new and fast-growing areas of the energy industry.”