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• EUR488 million lending package is Masdar’s largest euro financing deal and marks major step forward in global offshore wind investment

• Investment is Masdar’s first project with Iberdrola and first in Germany

• Masdar and Iberdrola will explore other offshore wind and green hydrogen opportunities in key markets via EUR15 billion strategic partnership agreement

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, has achieved close on the financing of its 49 percent shareholding in the 476MW Baltic Eagle wind farm, located in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Germany.

This is Masdar’s largest ever euro-denominated financing, as well as its first project with Iberdrola and its first in Germany. The total lending package amounted to EUR488 million, with participation from ABN AMRO, Credit Agricole CIB, ING, Santander, and Siemens Bank. Santander also acted as financial advisor on the deal.

The Baltic Eagle wind farm is valued at approximately EUR1.6 billion. The wind farm, which is scheduled to come into operation by the end of 2024, has a minimum regulated tariff of EUR64.6/MWh for the first 20 years. In addition, 100 percent of its production has already been sold via long-term contracts.

Masdar and Iberdrola signed a strategic agreement in July 2023 to co-invest in Baltic Eagle. At COP28, the two companies announced a further EUR15 billion strategic partnership agreement to evaluate the joint development of offshore wind and green hydrogen projects in key markets including Germany, the UK and the US.

Masdar has a long-standing commitment to advancing offshore wind projects across the globe. It is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, supporting the target set in The UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade.

• Dogger Bank South project is one of the largest planned offshore wind farms in the world

• Project will power three million homes and create thousands of jobs during construction and operational phases

• As joint shareholder, Masdar will collaborate with RWE to develop and operate the project

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC – Masdar, the UAE’s clean energy powerhouse, has completed its acquisition of a 49 percent shareholding in the 3 gigawatt (GW) Dogger Bank South (DBS) project – one of the world’s largest planned offshore wind farms. 

The planned £11 billion joint investment with RWE, a leading renewable energy company headquartered in Germany, is expected to provide a huge boost to the UK economy and demonstrates the UAE’s commitment to supporting net-zero goals in Britain and around the world. It builds on the £10 billion UAE-UK Sovereign Investment Partnership (UK-UAE SIP) to invest in technology, infrastructure and the energy transition.

Today’s announcement highlights the scale of Masdar’s long-standing support for global offshore wind projects. A decade ago, Masdar, RWE and partners launched the 630MW London Array wind farm, the world’s largest at the time. Masdar has also invested in the 30MW Hywind project – the world’s first floating offshore wind farm – and the 402MW Dudgeon offshore wind farm. Last year, Masdar agreed to co-invest in the 476MW Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, which will power 475,000 homes.

Located over 100 kilometers off the northeastern coast of England, the DBS offshore wind farm will be split across two sites, DBS East and DBS West, each with a capacity of 1.5 GW and spanning 500 square kilometers. The mega-facility is expected to generate enough electricity to power three million typical UK homes and will lead to the creation of 2,000 jobs during construction and more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs during the operational phase.

Masdar’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, said:

Markus Krebber, Chief Executive Officer of RWE, said:

Masdar and RWE signed an agreement to join forces on the DBS projects at COP28 in the UAE last December. With the closing of the transaction, Masdar is now a shareholder in both projects, while RWE retains a 51 percent stake. The companies will work together to develop and operate the wind farms.

Construction on the projects could start as early as the end of 2025, with the first 800MW of electricity planned to come online in 2029. The projects are expected to be fully commissioned by the end of 2031.

The next development milestone for the projects will be the submission of applications for Development Consent Orders, expected to be during the second quarter of 2024. If successful, the next steps would be to secure Contracts for Difference (CfD), followed by financing, construction and finally commissioning by 2031.

Masdar is aiming for a renewable energy portfolio capacity of 100GW by 2030, supporting the target set in The UAE Consensus to triple global renewables capacity by the end of this decade.