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Guarantee secured Danish wind power in Belgium

EKF guaranteed just under a third of the million-euro financing for an offshore wind farm off the Belgian coast, enabling the Danish company Vestas to secure the contract for the project's 55 mega wind turbines.
Case facts
What
Vestas supplies 55 wind turbines for Belwind in Belgium
How much
EUR 694 million
EKF's role
EKF is guaranteeing EUR 212.4 million, which is just under a third of the total financing package.
When
2009-2027
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  • Step 1
    The challenge
    Quote

    One key factor that made it possible to realise this venture during hard economic times was EKF's willingness to put up a guarantee for part of the financing.

    Anders Søe-Jensen, president of Vestas Offshore

    ​Vestas was in the running for a contract for 55 offshore wind turbines for the Belgian consortium Belwind. The wind turbines were to be sited off the Belgian coast as Belgium's biggest offshore wind farm to date.

    Offshore wind farms are high risk, complex ventures because of their huge scale and need for long-term financing. Because of this, banks and private investors are often unable to bear the entire risk themselves.

    With a total project value of EUR 694 million, the offshore wind farm was also the first project financing  of its kind since the financial crisis broke out.

    The wind farm will supply electricity to around 187,000 Belgian households.

  • Step 2
    The process

    ​The banks behind the Belgian consortium contacted EKF in 2007 to invite it to participate in the financing of the large offshore wind farm.

    EKF had previously been involved in financing other offshore wind farms, and so already had extensive experience in this field. EKF proceeded to assess the project's risks, finances and environmental impacts.

    Just as the frameworks for the financing were coming together, the original project owner behind Belwind went into liquidation.

    The winding up proceedings delayed the project until a new project owner was found to take over and realise the project.

  • Step 3
    The solution

    EKF judged the project's risks to be acceptable and offered a project financing guarantee worth just under a third of the total financing package.

    The project's total value is EUR 694 million, and the guarantee from EKF totals EUR 212.4 million.

    EKF put up the guarantee for the project financiers: Rabobank, Dexia Bank Belgium, European Investment Bank and ASN Bank. EKF shares the risk of the loan on an equal footing with the banks.

    The guarantee from EKF thus helped to make the project possible.

    "We are proud to be supplying wind turbines to Belwind. One key factor that made it possible to realise this project during hard economic times was EKF's willingness to put up a guarantee for part of the financing," says Anders Søe-Jensen, President of Vestas Offshore.

    The project was delivered on schedule in December 2010 following an 18-month construction period.​

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