Credit: REUTERS/Ralph OrlowskiEnBW makes final investment decision for He Dreiht
Sells stake to Allianz, AIP Management, Norges Bank
Secures 600 mln eur in funding from EIB
Adds details on deal, context
FRANKFURT, March 23 (Reuters) - German utility EnBW EBKG.DE has made a final investment decision for its 2.4 billion euro ($2.61 billion) He Dreiht offshore wind project and sold nearly half of it to a consortium of investors to shoulder the costs.
He Dreiht, with an installed capacity of 960 megawatts, is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 and will generate electricity for the equivalent of 1.1 million households, the company said.
"The final investment decision for the construction of our He Dreiht offshore wind farm is an important milestone in accelerating the energy transition," Chief Executive Andreas Schell said. "This is another big step towards a carbon-free energy future."
To spread the huge project costs, EnBW has sold 49.9% of the project to a consortium of Allianz Capital Partners ALVG.DE, Danish investor AIP Management and Norges Bank NOCB.UL for an undisclosed sum.
EnBW has also secured 600 million euros in long-term funding from the European Investment Bank to help fund the project, which would rank among Europe's largest offshore wind farms.
EnBW has already signed power purchase agreements for He Dreiht with Fraport FRAG.DE, Evonik EVKn.DE, Salzgitter SZGG.DE and Bosch ROBG.UL covering 335 megawatts, it said, adding that talks with other firms are underway.
($1 = 0.9179 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz, editing by Kirsti Knolle and Miranda Murray)
((christoph.steitz@thomsonreuters.com; +49 30 220 133 647;))
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