Merkur Offshore announced that the 396MW Merkur offshore wind development project confirmed financial close.

Merkur is a construction-ready wind farm located approximately 45 kilometers north of the islands of Borkum, Germany, in the North Sea. A total capital investment of €1.6 billion ($1.96 billion) was raised from equity investors and bank lenders on a non-recourse project financing basis.

Close to €500 million ($613 billion)in equity was provided by a consortium of five sponsors comprising of Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager (with a 50% equity share on behalf of its clients); InfraRed Capital Partners, the infrastructure and real estate investment  manager (with a 25% equity share on behalf of its infrastructure investors); DEME Concessions Wind, the infrastructure investment arm of the DEME Group (12.5%); GE  Energy Financial Services, the energy investing arm of the General Electric (6.25%) and ADEME, acting in the name and on behalf of the French State (6.25%).

“This is a significant milestone for both the Merkur Offshore project and the European offshore wind industry,” said Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy. “Securing this funding ensures the first large-scale commercial deployment of our state-of-the-art Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine in Europe. The Merkur project also signals our continued commitment to the development of offshore wind farms around the world.”