Fid Financial Close

On 24 February 2016, ScottishPower Renewables confirmed that it had taken the Final Investment Decision (FID) to proceed with the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm in south-east England. Reuters reported that the company "had made a final investment decision to go ahead" with the 714 MW project, which has an overall value of around 2.5 billion pounds and is designed to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 500,000 homes. This decision represented the formal green light from the developer to move from development and consenting activities into full-scale construction and delivery of the wind farm.[2] OffshoreWIND.biz noted the same day that ScottishPower Renewables "has made a final investment decision for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm" and would now progress with the development of the project, targeting operation by 2020.[3] The article emphasised that East Anglia ONE is intended to be a cost-efficient project, highlighting its status as the most cost-effective offshore wind farm to confirm construction at that time, with a £119/MWh price secured through a competitive UK government auction process.[3] The FID also unlocked a series of associated local investments and commitments. ScottishPower Renewables highlighted a £25 million agreement with the Port of Lowestoft to act as the wind farm’s home port for more than 30 years across construction and operations, as well as a skills strategy agreed with local councils in Suffolk aimed at building a regional workforce and targeting at least 50% UK supply chain content over the project’s lifetime.[3]