Offshore Wind Ticker - SgurrEnergy supports Nordergrunde offshore wind farm to financial close

Located within the German 12nm zone of the North Sea, 16km north of the German North Sea coast Nordergrunde is the sixth German offshore project SgurrEnergy’s Advisory team has supported to financial close in recent years.

SgurrEnergy began work on the project in December 2014 and the lenders’ technical advisor, undertook a detailed technical, contractual and financial review of the project and identified and mitigated the technical issues which could have affected the ability to successfully reach financial close. As the project enters the implementation phase, SgurrEnergy will continue to support the lenders, providing construction monitoring and subsequently operational monitoring services.

Developed by wpd AG, the project will consist of 18 Senvion 6.2M126 wind turbine generators on monopile foundations which use a novel interface design. Offshore installation will commence on April 2016 with commercial operations anticipated in early 2017.

Wpd AG’s Eckhard Stürtz, project finance controller, said: “We are very satisfied with the work and expertise SgurrEnergy has provided us. We found their professionalism and expertise fundamental to us our achieving our goal of reaching financial close.”

SgurrEnergy’s Matthias Henke, Director of German Operations, said: “Due to their nature, offshore wind farms are related to higher risks than projects onshore and require careful risk assessment and mitigation. In supporting this project to financial close the individual teams of SgurrEnergy in Glasgow and Hamburg worked together and combined all their long term experiences and knowledge from offshore wind energy projects implemented in the UK and Germany.”

SgurrEnergy’s Project Manager of the assignment, Keith Williamson, said: “Through close collaboration with experienced industry players including wpd AG, kfw IPEX and the European Investment Bank, we were able to collectively compile a suitable package for the successful project financing of the wind farm. It was a pleasure to work with the parties involved and I look forward to continuing our involvement in the project during its construction and operation.”