Global Tech I, for which the group will supply 80 M5000 wind turbines, is the only offshore wind farm to have raised debt financing in excess of 1 billion Euros. It is the second AREVA-powered offshore wind farm to be awarded such financing. In 2008-2009, Willi Balz, initiator of GTI and CEO of Windreich AG had raised 800-million euro equity.
The transaction, signed with a consortium composed of 16 commercial banks, the European Investment Bank and KfW, covers both construction and operation for the GTI project.
Louis-François Durret, CEO of AREVA’s Renewables Business Group, said: “We are delighted that the Global Tech I project has received the “Wind Deal of the Year” award. It confirms the financial community’s confidence in AREVA’s wind technology and in GTI shareholder’s ability to successfully carry out a complex large-scale project. This recognition will also facilitate financing of new projects that Windreich AG and AREVA may develop together in the future.”
