Scottish offshore wind park of 450 MW gets CfD back – Renewables Now (subscription)

March 21 (Renewables Now) - The 450-MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in Scotland has won the fight against the termination of its Contract for Difference (CfD) and it is now targeting financial close in 2018 and construction start in 2019.

Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power today announced that the arbitral tribunal has decided in favour of Neart na Gaoithe in the dispute related to Low Carbon Contracts Co Ltds (LCCC) move to terminate the CfD for the project in March 2016.

The details on the dispute are confidential.

Mainstream further said it is continuing discussions with the European Investment Bank (EIB), international equity investors, commercial banks and other interested parties to help the offshore wind project reach financial close and start construction.

Planned for the Outer Forth Estuary in the North Sea, Neart na Gaoithe secured a 15-year CfD at a strike price of GBP 114.38 (USD 141.7/EUR 131.6) per MWh in March 2015. It got planning consent in October 2014, but the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland in early 2015 challenged in court the Scottish governments approval of four offshore wind projects, including this one.

Neart na Gaoithe continues to work with the relevant bodies to ensure that the project has a viable unencumbered consent to allow for financial close in 2018, Mainstream said.

The company had said previously it would use Siemens (FRA:SIE) 7-MW turbines for the project.

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Scottish offshore wind park of 450 MW gets CfD back - Renewables Now (subscription)