OREANDA-NEWS. July 02, 2015. KfW is participating in the financing of the Veja Mate offshore wind farm. It is the fourth, and with a volume of around EUR 430 million, the largest financing project to date to be funded under the Offshore Wind Energy Programme established in 2011.

KfW is acting within the framework of the KfW Offshore Wind Energy Programme on behalf of the German Federal Government. In partnership with the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi), KfW adjusted the general conditions of the programme to the current market situation in March 2015, in order to be able to continue to make a substantial contribution to the financing of the energy transition. The financing stake in the Veja Mate project furnishes clear evidence that the programme has been successfully adjusted to current market conditions.

The State Secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, Rainer Baake, commented this as follows: "A reliable general framework, like the one we created with the EEG 2014 (Renewable Energy Sources Act), is a prerequisite for investment. That is one reason why 2014 saw a significant increase in the amount invested in offshore wind farms, so there is every indication that we will achieve our expansion targets by 2020. And we should not forget that the construction, subsequent operation and maintenance of the wind farm will secure value creation and jobs, principally in those states located along the coast".

"The Veja Mate project plays an important role for the expansion of renewables. We are pleased that, under the Offshore Wind Energy Programme, KfW is making a further considerable contribution to implementing the energy transition", said Dr Ulrich Schr?der, Chief Executive Officer of KfW.

KfW is acting together with a consortium of banks consisting of the Danish export credit agency EKF and a commercial banking club. The total volume of investment in the Veja Mate wind farm is in the region of EUR 1.9 billion. In total, the banks involved are providing just under EUR 1.3 billion of debt capital. In accordance with its promotional mandate, KfW is thus making a material contribution to financing this project. Alongside KfW, KfW IPEX-Bank – as the specialist financier responsible for project and export financing within the Group - is also participating in the financing, together with a commercial banking club made up of six banks.

The Veja Mate wind farm is located about 100 km off the German North Sea coast and extends over an area of 50 square kilometres, with water depths of approximately 40 metres. The facility will comprise 67 wind turbines from the German manufacturer Siemens and have an overall capacity of 400 MW. With forecast annual production of about 1.6 TWh, the offshore wind farm will be one of the largest in the world, able to cover the electricity consumption of around 1 million people.