Planned to be located 40km off the Belgian coast in North Sea, the wind farm will feature 42 Siemens turbines.
First power is anticipated in mid-2018 and the windfarm will be fully operational by the end of 2018.
The wind farm will be capable of generating enough energy for about 285,000 Belgian households.
A total of nine banks have agreed to provide debt, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), AG Insurance, ASN Bank, Belfius, ING, KBC, KfW Ipex-Bank, Rabobank and Societe Generale.
The EIB will provide €250m through the European Fund for Strategic Investments and fund a further €50m that will be guaranteed by Delcredere/Ducroire. EKF will guarantee a €208m tranche.
Rentel CEO Nathalie Oosterlinck said: “This is a very important step in the project. Thanks to this investment we do not only contribute to achieving the international, but also the Belgian climate objectives.
“By 2020, 13% of our produced energy will have to be renewable. Half of it will come from offshore wind energy. By investing in local power stations we reduce having to import electricity. This increases Belgium’s energy independence.
“Furthermore, the realization of the new wind farm generates approximately 1400 direct jobs and another 1400 indirect jobs during development and construction stage. During the exploitation stage 100 permanent jobs will be created.”
The shareholders of the Rentel offshore wind farm include Otary, Rent-A-Port, Power at Sea, DEME, Aspiravi, Elicio, SRIW, SOCOFE, KRACHT.
The project is considered to be important for Belgium as it can propel the country to a leading role in offshore wind energy and in achieving the 2020 EU climate change goals.
Image: Rentel NV has reached financial close for the construction of a new 309MW offshore windfarm off the Belgian coast. Photo: Courtesy of Matt Banks/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
