Masdar nabs GBP-266m loan for London Array share

Oct 10, 2013 - Abu Dhabi's renewables developer Masdar said today it had secured a GBP-266-million (USD 424m/EUR 313m) limited-recourse project loan for its participation in the 630-MW London Array I offshore wind farm.

The financing, which has a 12-year term, was obtained by Masdar Energy UK, a wholly-owned unit of the UAE company. The banks that took provided the money are Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd, Germany's KfW IPEX-Bank, Siemens Bank GMBH, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the UK Green Investment Bank Plc.

“We need increased collaboration between institutional investors and the renewable energy industry to drive down cost and accelerate adoption,” said Masdar chief executive Ahmed Al Jaber.

Masdar holds a stake of 20% in the wind scheme off Kent and Essex, while Danish utility Dong Energy A/S and German utility E.ON SE (ETR:EOAN) own 50% and 30%, respectively. The wind farm was officially put on stream this summer. It is powered by 175 pieces of Siemens 3.6-MW machines and is able to generate enough electricity for half a million households a year, its developers calculate. There is a proposal for a second phase which, if consented, will bring London Array’s total capacity to 870 MW.

(GBP 1 = USD 1.593/EUR 1.178)

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