Norway’s Eksfin tops NOK 10bn in offshore wind financing as Dogger Bank C reaches financial close
Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) has reached a new milestone of NOK 10.3bn (EUR 1.04bn) in loans and guarantees for offshore wind projects worldwide, according to the company's release.
Its latest loan guarantee relates to a converter platform contract awarded to Norwegian supplier Aibel for the third phase of the Dogger Bank mega-project in the North Sea, which reached financial close today with a group of lenders comprising 28 banks and three export credit agencies. The majority are the same as for the financing of Dogger Bank A and B. Total investment in Dogger Bank will be around GBP 9bn, of which around GBP 3bn is for phase C.
Eksfin has now provided guarantees worth over NOK 5bn in total related to Norwegian deliveries to Dogger Bank, which is being developed in joint venture between Equinor, SSE Renewables and ENI. Once completed in 2026 it will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Eksfin’s significant contribution highlights the high priority the government-backed agency is giving to renewables.
Offshore wind is an important market for Norwegian technology. The investments are huge, the work complex and there is fierce competition from overseas. Cooperating with Eksfin has resulted in billion-kroner contracts for Norwegian exporters in the past two years.
Suppliers require Eksfin’s support because they often have to provide bank guarantees for their deliveries, while customers often have to make large investments long before revenues come onstream, as is the case with the Dogger Bank. This financing requirement is normally covered by banks but banks often cannot or will not provide the kind of capacity required. Here Eksfin can step in with financing instruments that have the highest possible Triple-A rating.
Aibel won the EPC (engineering, procurement and commissioning) contract for a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transformer platform for the Phase C of Dogger Bank earlier this year. Eksfin is providing a loan guarantee worth GBP 130m (NOK 1.5bn) for the platform. It also provided guarantees covering the first two platforms Aibel secured for Dogger Bank A and B. The power distribution system is high voltage due to the long distance to the onshore grid connection. It is also the first time HVDC is being used for offshore wind in the UK.
Aibel builds and maintains critical infrastructure for the energy industry and in the last few years built a solid position in the European offshore wind sector. The company had at the end of the third quarter an order backlog totalling NOK 12bn, of which 43% is connected to four separate deliveries within offshore wind in Europe. Eksfin has contributed with guarantees to all four projects, including the delivery to Dogger Bank C.
About Dogger Bank
Dogger Bank Wind Farm was awarded exclusive development rights in 2010 by The Crown Estate as part of its third seabed licensing round. The project secured planning consent in 2015. In September 2019, Dogger Bank Wind Farm secured a guaranteed electricity price contracts from the UK’s renewables programme for a duration of 15 years. The price is adjusted for inflation. Dogger Bank lies more than 130 kilometres east of the Yorkshire in water depths of 20 to 35 metres. Each of the three project phases will have an installed capacity of 1.2 GW and combined will cover around 5% of the UK’s total energy requirement – equivalent to powering six million homes. The wind turbine generators (WTG) are expected to be 10-plus MW each and are installed on fixed foundations on the seabed.
About Eksfin
Export Finance Norway (Eksfin) promotes Norwegian exports through supporting Norwegian companies, overseas purchasers and their banks with state-backed loans, guarantees and skilled advisory services. Eksfin promotes sales contracts globally, infrastructure investments in Norway and other types of financial transactions that strengthen Norwegian value creation. Eksfin is a state-owned management company under the umbrella of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Fisheries, and was established on 1 July 2021 through the merger of GIEK -- the Norwegian Export Credit Guarantee Agency – and Export Credit Norway AS. Eksfin employs 130 people at its headquarters in Oslo.
