wpd successfully closes syndication for its 640 MW offshore wind farm Yunlin in Taiwan

The 640 MW Yunlin offshore wind farm project, the largest offshore wind transaction financed in Asia Pacific and the first large, multi-megawatt offshore wind project in Taiwan, reached financial close on May 30^th 2019.

Bjoern Nullmeyer, CFO of wpd AG, commented as follows: “wpd is very happy about the successful closing of the syndication on time which reflects increasing interest by Taiwanese banks. Both private and state-owned banks are participating as new lenders. Besides this, a growing number of unfunded risk participants are supporting project finance for offshore wind farms.”

The initially mandated lead arrangers and underwriters, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, were heading the syndication for Yunlin.

wpd has also been awarded the Guanyin Offshore Wind Project (350 MW) in Taipei and has already started the financing process. Interested parties on the debt and equity side have been approached with a solid project structure.

The Guanyin Offshore Wind Farm project is planned two kilometers off the coast of the Taoyuan district in the north of the island state. With commissioning planned for 2021/2022, 350 MW of electricity will be generated from wind energy. The project successfully combines wpd's experience in the construction of offshore wind farms and the development expertise of the partners on site in the course of the implementation of the Yunlin project which was designed for 640 MW off the west coast of Taiwan.

wpd has been operating in Taiwan for more than ten years and, together with its local partners, has achieved a market share of around 50 percent in the Taiwanese onshore wind business. With the two projects "Yunlin" and "Guanyin", which require a total debt financing of more than € 4 billion, wpd is playing a leading role in the development of the Taiwanese offshore wind market.