FRANKFURT/OSLO, March 23 (Reuters) - German utility EnBW (EBKG.DE) has made a firm commitment to build its 2.4 billion euro ($2.6 billion) He Dreiht offshore wind farm, drawing on a consortium of investors for funding help, including Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund.
He Dreiht, with an installed capacity of 960 megawatts, is expected to be operational by the end of 2025 and will generate electricity for 1.1 million households, EnBW said.
It will be one of Europe's largest offshore wind parks.
"The final investment decision for the construction of our He Dreiht offshore wind farm is an important milestone in accelerating the energy transition," CEO Andreas Schell said. "This is another big step towards a carbon-free energy future."
To spread the huge costs, EnBW has sold 49.9% of the project to a consortium of Allianz Capital Partners (ALVG.DE), Danish investor AIP Management and Norges Bank (NOCB.UL), which will each take a 16.6% stake.
Norges Bank will pay around 430 million euros, marking the third direct investment by the fund in a renewable project, following deals for a Dutch wind farm with Orsted (ORSTED.CO) in 2021 and part of Iberdrola's (IBE.MC) Spanish solar and onshore wind portfolio in January.
AIP Management said it would spend more than 400 million euros for its stake.
"Once operational, it will generate a long-term and stable return for our investors while significantly supporting the transition towards a cleaner energy economy," AIP CEO Kasper Hansen said.
EnBW has also secured 600 million euros in long-term funding from the European Investment Bank.
It has also signed power purchase agreements with Fraport (FRAG.DE), Evonik (EVKn.DE), Salzgitter AG (SZGG.DE) and Bosch (ROBG.UL) accounting for 335 megawatts, it said, adding that talks with other firms are underway.
($1 = 0.9179 euros)
