Renewable

November 4 (Renewables Now) - Germany’s Wpd AG said on Friday it has closed the syndication for its 640-MW Yunlin offshore wind farm project in Taiwan, estimated at TWD 85.5 billion (USD 2.8bn/EUR 2.5bn).

The German firm reached financial close on the project in late May after securing TWD 94 billion in financing from 19 banks and three export credit agencies. The initially mandated lead arrangers and underwriters were heading the syndication, namely Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Wpd said.

Wpd co-owns the Yunlin project with a Japanese group led by trader Sojitz Corporation (TYO:2768). This consortium also includes The Chugoku Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9504), Chudenko Corporation (TYO:1941), Shikoku Electric Power Co Inc (TYO:9507) and JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corporation.

The Yunlin project envisages the installation of 80 wind turbines about 8 km (4.97 miles) off the Taiwanese west coast. It is expected to be completed in 2021.

In Taiwan, Wpd is also developing the 350-MW Guanyin offshore wind project, for which it secured grid connection capacity last April. It has already started the financing process for this scheme and expects to commission the power plant off the coast of Taoyuan district in 2021/2022.

(TWD 10  = USD 0.328/EUR 0.294)