Veja Mate Offshore Wind Farm Project Details and Progress

The Veja Mate Offshore Wind Farm project is a significant undertaking in the North Sea. Located approximately 95 kilometers north of the Borkum island in Germany, it's one of the largest offshore wind farms in the world.

The project involves 67 turbines, each with a capacity of 8.3 megawatts. This makes it a substantial contributor to Germany's renewable energy goals.

The turbines are spread across an area of approximately 97 square kilometers, making the most of the available space in the North Sea.

The project started in 2013, and it's expected to be completed by 2021.

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The Veja Mate Offshore Wind Farm project was finalized in July 2015 after a series of crucial decisions.

The project's financing was a collaborative effort involving eight international lenders, who contributed up to €1.275 billion in debt.

KfW, a key supporter, provided €430 million specifically for the offshore wind farm project through their Offshore Wind Energy Programme, established in 2011.

The financial and technical aspects of the project were managed by experienced professionals, including K2 Management as the technical advisors and Green Giraffe as the financial advisor.

CMS also played a vital role as the advisor for legal structuring as well as project financing.

The Veja Mate offshore wind farm is a massive project that requires a lot of planning and execution. The wind farm will feature 67 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 direct drive wind turbines.

Each turbine has a rated capacity of 6MW and a rotor diameter of 154m. The turbines will be installed at a height of 80m above sea level.

The monopiles that support the turbines have a diameter of 7.8m and weigh approximately 1,300t. They will be fabricated by EEW at Rostock, Germany.

The transition pieces will be fabricated by Bladt Industries at Aalborg, Denmark.

Construction of the Veja Mate project began with foundation installation in April 2016, following seabed preparation work that started in February 2016.

The turbine installation was scheduled to commence in March 2017 and was completed by the end of that year. Siemens was awarded a turbine supply and 15-year service and maintenance contract in July 2015.

Seajacks UK was contracted to provide the Seajacks Scylla installation vessel for the transport and installation of the monopiles in the same month. Volker Stevin International provided design and engineering services for the permanent works and handling tools.

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JDR delivered hang-offs, connectors, and cable accessories, as well as topside termination and testing services. Smulders was contracted to provide a topside and jacket for the offshore wind farm.

Sormec supplied a M350/3S telescopic boom crane for the offshore wind farm in October 2015. EMS Maritime Offshore was awarded the contract to guard the offshore wind farm with its fleet of guard vessels.

SMC delivered full-scope marine coordination and vessel management on the project. Construction of the Veja Mate project was completed in less than 14 months, beating the original schedule by almost four months.

The project was delivered well within the CAPEX budget agreed at financial close. The installation of the last of its 67 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 turbines marked the completion of construction.

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The Veja Mate wind farm will be connected to the power grid through the existing BorWin 2 offshore substation.

The BorWin 2 offshore substation was built by Siemens for TenneT, and it's a crucial part of the project's grid connection plan.

CG, an Avantha Group Company, was awarded a contract in May 2015 for the turnkey supply and installation of a high-voltage offshore substation for the project.

The substation will connect the turbines to the German high-voltage grid via the BorWin2 converter platform.

The substation is based on Overdick’s MOAB platform concept, which is a reliable and efficient design.

Construction of the Veja Mate offshore wind park project began with foundation installation in April 2016. The seabed preparation work at the offshore site started in February 2016.

The turbine installation commenced in March 2017 and was completed by the end of 2017. This was a crucial step in bringing the project to life.

Siemens was awarded a turbine supply and 15-year service and maintenance contract in July 2015. This contract was a significant milestone for the project.

The project was expected to be fully operational by January 2018. However, Veja Mate completed construction in less than 14 months and just 23 months after Financial Close (FC).

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Commissioning activities of the last turbine were finalized in December 2017. This meant that all 67 turbines were now feeding green, renewable electricity into the German grid.

The project was delivered well within the CAPEX budget agreed at Financial Close (FC). This was a significant achievement for the project team.

Veja Mate completed construction 4 months ahead of schedule. This was a testament to the hard work and dedication of the project team.

The Veja Mate project was financed through a combination of equity and debt, with eight international lenders contributing up to €1.275bn ($1.42bn) debt.

KfW, a German state-owned development bank, contributed €430m ($478.89m) to the project under the Offshore Wind Energy Programme established in 2011.

A consortium of funds managed by Commerz Real, wpd invest, KGAL, and the Ingka Group acquired an 80% stake in the Veja Mate offshore wind farm from Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), Highland Group Holdings, and Siemens Financial Services.

Siemens Financial Services retains a 20% ownership stake in the project company, while CI-II, a fund managed by CIP, remains a lender to Veja Mate.

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The Veja Mate project demonstrates the importance of a well-structured financing plan.

The project was financed through a combination of equity and debt, with eight international lenders contributing up to €1.275bn ($1.42bn) debt.

KfW, a major contributor, provided €430m ($478.89m) under the Offshore Wind Energy Programme established in 2011.

Technical advisors, K2 Management, were selected to support the project's development.

Green Giraffe served as the financial advisor, ensuring the project's financial structuring was sound.

CMS was the advisor for legal structuring and project financing, providing critical expertise in these areas.

CIP and its partners have sold an 80% stake in the 402MW Veja Mate offshore wind farm to a European consortium.

The consortium, consisting of Commerz Real, wpd invest, KGAL, and the Ingka Group, acquired the stake from CIP and its partners, including Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Highland Group Holdings.

Siemens Financial Services will retain a 20% ownership stake in the project company, while CI-II, a fund managed by CIP, will remain a lender to Veja Mate.

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The sale is a result of the project's successful delivery, which was completed four months ahead of schedule and below budget in 2017.

The Veja Mate wind farm is located in the German North Sea, about 95km northwest of Borkum, and consists of 67 Siemens Wind Power SWT-6.0-154 turbines.

The turbines have a 6MW capacity each and are designed to operate for 25 years, with the initial maintenance agreement set for 15 years.

The wind farm can generate enough electricity to power nearly 400,000 German households annually, while avoiding more than 18 million tons of CO2 emissions during its lifetime.

The sale comes shortly after the European Commission approved the acquisition of sole control over Veja Mate Offshore Project GmbH, the owner and operator of the wind farm, by Siemens Project Ventures GmbH.

The consortium that acquired the stake was advised by Watson Farley & Williams (WFW), while the existing shareholders received advisory services from FIH Partners, Green Giraffe, and CMS Hasche Sigle.

Ingka Group, one of the new shareholders, plans to use the investment to support its sustainability targets and climate-positive ambitions.

Commerz Real and Ingka Group each acquired a stake of €200m in the project, which will provide a long-term stable cash flow to its investors.

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