Equinor, SSE close landmark financing on UK wind farm

Norway's state-controlled Equinor and UK-based SSE Renewables have closed a £5.5bn ($7.3bn) project financing deal for the first two phases of the Dogger Bank wind farm in the North Sea — the largest ever secured for an offshore wind development.

The deal — with 29 banks and three export credit agencies — secures funding for Dogger Bank A and B, each of which require capital expenditure (capex) of about £3bn. Project financing for the third phase, Dogger Bank C, will be secured at a later date.

Each phase of the project will have a capacity of 1.2GW, which will make Dogger Bank the largest offshore wind farm in the world when all stages are completed in 2026. The project will produce enough electricity to supply 5pc of the UK's annual demand, equivalent to 6mn homes.

SSE Renewables is leading Dogger Bank's construction, and Equinor will lead operations. Onshore construction has begun, and Dogger Bank A is scheduled to produce its first power in the summer of 2023. Commercial operations for A and B are due to start in 2025.

Dogger Bank marks another step in Equinor's stated plan to become a "global offshore wind major". It aims to increase its wind capacity 30-fold by 2035, and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Equinor is transitioning itself into a "broad energy company" on the expectation that demand for oil and gas will slowly decline from 2030.

By Sian Morris