As part of an international banking consortium, KfW IPEX-Bank is financing the 860 MW Triton Knoll offshore wind project located off the coast of Lincolnshire in the UK.
In providing the financing KfW IPEX-Bank is contributing to the total investment volume of GBP 2 billion whilst supporting environmental protection.
The German utility innogy SE has developed the project and will manage the construction, operation and maintenance of the wind farm on behalf of the project partners. In mid-August, innogy confirmed two new partners with which it will take the Triton Knoll project forward. J-Power will take a 25% share and Kansai Electric Power a 16% share, with innogy retaining the majority equity stake of 59%. At the heart of the Triton Knoll project will be 90 of MHI Vestas’ V164-9.5 MW turbines, currently considered to be amongst the most powerful and efficient in the world. Under the turbine supply agreement, MHI Vestas will establish a full-scale turbine preassembly operation at the British port in Teesside. The port works alone could support over 100 mostly regional jobs and secure up to GBP 16 million in new investment in the port facilities. Another main supplier supporting the project is the German exporter Siemens, which will construct both the onshore and offshore substations.
Once fully operational, Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm will be capable of supplying the equivalent of 800,000 UK households p.a. with renewable electricity. Initial enabling works are already underway at the site of the project’s onshore electrical system, which includes a 57 km underground cable route, landfall site and construction of a new onshore substation at Bicker Fen, Lincolnshire. The start of full construction of the onshore electrical system is scheduled for September. Offshore construction is then set to begin in late 2019/early 2020 and commissioning of Triton Knoll is slated to start in 2021.
Original source: KfW
Published on 6 September 2018
