This story was first published on 29 November when the developers announced a £2.6 billion funding package for Moray East. It was updated on 6 December when the project reached financial close.
A consortium of EDP Renováveis (43.3%), Engie (23.3%) and Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Generating Europe (33.4%) announced a £2.6 billion (€2.94 billion) funding package for the site late last month.
The group had secured a £2.1 billion (€2.37 billion) debt facility and £500 million (€565 million) ancillary facility with a group of 16 banks and financial institutions, including Denmark’s Export Credit Agency and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
Mitsubishi Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiary Diamond Generating Europe, had set up Diamond Green Limited as its executing arm for Moray East.
At the end of November, Mitsubishi sold a 30% stake in Diamond Green to Japanese utility Kansei Electric Power (Kepco) and 20% to financing company Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company. Mitsubishi retains a 50% share in Diamond Green.
Moray East is supported under the UK’s contract for difference (CfD) framework. In the second auction round in September 2017, the developers secured a strike price of £57.50/MWh for the project’s generation (2012 prices).
Moray East will be installed 22km off Scotland’s east coast in the Moray Firth. It will comprise 100 MHI Vestas 9.5MW turbines and is due online in 2022.
Boskalis will supply and install 102 66kV inter-array cables for the project in 2020 and 2021.
"Given its size and characteristics, a deal of this magnitude marks a milestone for the financing of renewable energy on a global scale," EDPR chief executive João Manso Neto said.
Moray West
The sister project in the zone has also passed an approval hurdle, after being supported by the local council.
In mid-November, authorities had suggested the 85-turbine site could affect visual impact of the area. Moray West is located adjacent to Moray East but closer to the coast. The SSE Beatrice offshore wind project is also being built in the area.
However, according to local news reports, the objection was ignored on the basis the view across the firth was often obscured by weather anyway.
