Macquarie Capital is to partner with EnBW in the Baltic 2 offshore windfarm.
The investment firm has signed an agreement to purchase a 49.89 per cent stake in the project for around €720 million.
Baltic 2 – previously known as Kriegers Flak – is under construction in the German Baltic Sea, 32 km north of the island of Rugen. It will consist of 80 Siemens 3.6 MW turbines and is expected to be fully commissioned in the spring 2015.
"This means that we have now successfully implemented our second participation model in the area of offshore wind energy," said Thomas Kusterer, EnBW Chief Financial Officer. "EnBW utilises participation models to generate additional financial scope for pushing forward the development of other growth projects."
Macquarie said that the investment in Baltic 2 could be the first of many investments in offshore wind. "Given the strong regulatory renewable energy regime, we see Germany as a key market for this type of investment going forward," said Mark Dooley, Head of Infrastructure, Utilities and Renewables at Macquarie.
Installation of the turbines at Baltic 2 is "in full swing", according to EnBW, with 34 wind turbines already installed. The water depths and seabed conditions at the site mean that both monopile and jacket foundations are being used.
The first turbines will start feeding electricity into the grid in the coming weeks.
