Rentel offshore windfarm project in Belgium reaches financial close
Mott MacDonald has in recent months provided lenders’ technical advisory for the 309 MW Rentel offshore windfarm project in Belgium. The new facility will provide renewable energy to 285.000 households and involved a €1.1 billion investment.
The Rentel offshore windfarm project is the brainchild of a consortium of eight Belgian shareholders. The project aims to build a 42 turbine strong offshore windfarm that generates a total of 309 MW at peak output. The energy, which is transported by a 220kV submarine cable to the onshore substation of Stevin in Zeebrugge, generates sufficient electricity for around 285.000 households. The €1.1 billion project is situated 40km from the Harbour of Ostend in Belgium.
The financing for the project was recently closed, with construction planned to begin in 2017. Mott MacDonald provided lenders’ technical advisory services for the project. The professional services firm had considerable previous involvement in the project, including due diligence as well as delivering a number of key recommendations. Among the recommendations are those related to the deployment of the wind turbine platform and the use of XL monopiles, a process which will require the use of the world’s largest piling hammer during the installation phase.
Mott MacDonald will provide continued construction and operational monitoring in an ongoing role, with commercial operation expected to begin during 2018.
Nick Morgan, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, says, “As we were commissioned by the developer at an early stage, we were able to provide valuable input during the initial contract negotiations and design stage. This meant that the lenders’ requirements could be fed into the process and addressed early on to achieve bankability, therefore streamlining the financing process.”
Commenting on the cooperation with Mott MacDonald, Nathalie Oosterlinck, Rentel’s CEO says, “We are very pleased to have worked with Mott MacDonald from early on in the development of this project. We have found a trusted and experienced partner that has contributed to the objectives of the project.”
Previous windfarm
Mott MacDonald has worked on a number of recent wind farm projects, including four in Belgium, Belwind, Northwind, Thornton Bank and Nobelwind; the Tsetsii wind farm situated in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia; the Merkur offshore wind farm, Germany; the US Block Island Wind Farm; and the Westermeerwind project in the Netherlands.