14 DAY TRIAL // This March 31, the UK Green Investment Bank went public with the news that it was to support the country's clean power industry by investing a total of £461 million (about €557 million / $766 million) in green energy projects.
Thus, information shared with the public says that the Green Investment Bank is to take equity stakes in two offshore wind power projects. The initiatives in question are the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm and the Gwynt y Môr project.
On its website, the government-backed bank details that the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm is to be located off the coast of Yorkshire, and that it is now in its early stages of construction.
Once completed, this facility will sport an energy generating capacity of 210 megawatts, and will cough out some 800GWh of green energy on a yearly basis. Besides, it will be the first offshore wind farm in the United Kingdom to make use of new generation 6MW turbines produced by Siemens.
According to the Green Investment Bank, the use of these Siemens 6MW turbines will help increase the facility's energy output, and will therefore translate into a drop in the cost of offshore wind power.
The government-backed bank says that it is to invest a total of £241 million (roughly €291 million / $400 million) in this clean energy project, and that Japan's Marubeni Corporation is to also get behind this green-oriented initiative.
“GIB [Green Investment Bank] is investing alongside Japan's Marubeni Corporation to jointly purchase a 50% stake in the Westermost Rough offshore wind farm, from DONG Energy. GIB is committing £241m to the c. £500m [approximately €604m / $831m] transaction,” the bank details.
As far as the Gwynt y Môr wind farm is concerned, the UK Green Investment Bank says that this facility is to sit in the waters off the coast of North Wales. The project is the largest of its kind currently under construction in Europe, and will have a generating capacity of 576MW once completed. This capacity will translate into a yearly output of 1,700GWh.
The bank explains that it is to spend £220 million (approximately €266 million / $366 million) on backing up this initiative, and that this will allow it to acquire a 10% stake in the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm off the coast of North Wales.
Commenting on this latest round of investments in clean energy, the current Chief Executive of the UK Green Investment Bank, Shaun Kingsbury, said that, “The UK has ambitious plans to build on its position as a world leader in offshore wind.”
“We have two roles to play in supporting those plans. Firstly, to directly invest to help developers recycle their capital into the next wave of new renewable energy projects. Secondly, to invest on fully commercial terms to create a demonstration effect which others will follow,” he added.