Capital Support Awarded

The European Investment Bank (EIB) formally signed a major development-bank loan package for the London Array Offshore Windfarm in 2010, marking the award of capital support to the project. The EIB project page records the loan status as “Signed” and details three signature dates: 8 June 2010, 1 July 2010 and 9 September 2010. Across these signatures, the EIB committed a total of €842,904,589.68 in financing to the project. This support sits within an originally proposed EIB finance envelope of around GBP 1,000 million against an indicative total project cost of about GBP 2,200 million, underlining the Bank’s role as a cornerstone lender for the scheme. The page confirms that the financing relates to the first phase of London Array, consisting of 175 turbines with a capacity of 630 MW, located offshore the UK coast. The project is described as aiming to help the UK meet its ambitious 2020 renewable electricity consumption targets, and is classified as an energy-sector investment. The loan signatures followed planning approval and a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, as evidenced by the accompanying Non-Technical Summary reference. With the EIB loan package signed, London Array secured substantial, long-term debt from a public development bank, providing a critical component of the project’s capital structure and enabling progression from development into construction and ultimately operation.