OREANDA-NEWS. October 26, 2015. Sumitomo Corporation (Head Office: Tokyo, Japan; President and CEO: Kuniharu Nakamura) together with Sumitomo Corporation Europe Limited (Head Office: the United Kingdom), Parkwind NV (Head Office: Belgium, an off-shore wind farm developer and operator), and Meewind (Head Office: the Netherlands, an investment fund) have secured financing for the Nobelwind off-shore wind farm project (the “Project”) in Belgium and started construction on October 21, 2015.

Sumitomo joined the Project in June 2014 by acquiring a 39.02% stake in the Project company and, together with Parkwind and Meewind, has developed it in the North Sea, approximately 45 km north of the Belgian coast in water depths of approximately 30 m. After Sumitomo, Parkwind, and Meewind secured approximately EUR 460 million in financing for construction and operating costs, the Project company started construction of the wind farm aiming for completion by the end of December 2017. The Project will procure 50 large 3.3 MW wind turbine generators from MHI Vestas with a total project cost of approximately EUR 655 million. The project period is planned to be 20 years from the completion of construction. Production capacity of the project will be 165 MW with electricity to be purchased by a utility in Belgium under a long-term power purchase agreement to serve 186,000 households.

Sumitomo has globally (Japan, the United States, South Africa, etc.) developed its wind power business, which includes its investment in two off-shore wind farms, Belwind (165 MW) and Northwind (216 MW), in Belgium in September 2014. The Project marks the first time a Japanese corporation has joined an off-shore wind farm project company in Europe at the early development stage. By leveraging the experience and know-how gained through the Project, Sumitomo aims to continue development of off-shore wind farms in Europe and contribute to global sustainability.