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The project will fund the design, construction, and operation of a fixed-bottom offshore wind farm with a capacity of up to 390 MW in the Polish exclusive economic zone of the Baltic Sea region.
The offshore wind farm will help reduce carbon emissions and air pollution, which are externalities the market fails to address. By introducing new variable renewable energy technologies in the market, the project aims to bridge the gap in developing additional renewable capacity.
The project contributes to the InvestEU objective of the development of the energy sector in accordance with the Energy Union priorities, including security of energy supply, clean energy transition and the commitments taken under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement, in particular through the expansion of the generation, supply or use of clean and sustainable renewable and safe and sustainable other zero and low-emission energy sources and solutions.
The project concerns the development and operation of a new, large-scale, fixed-bottom offshore wind farm that will contribute to the achievement of the 2030 decarbonisation targets set out in the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP), as well as the REPowerEU Action Plan.
The project is located in an EU Less Developed Region (Pomorskie). The financing of this project contributes to the Bank's lending priority objectives of Renewable Energy, on Climate Action, Environmental Sustainability as well as Economic and Social Cohesion.
The offshore wind farm will primarily reduce carbon and air pollution emissions, which are externalities the market fails to address. Moreover, the project provides new generation capacity in a sector characterised by incomplete markets, relying on a public Contract-for-Differences with exposure to residual market risks. It thereby contributes to the policy objective of supporting market integration of renewable energy projects.
The project is economically justified, yet it is borderline financially viable (due to the high investment cost). The experience of the promoter in the development, construction and operation of offshore projects, is considered acceptable for the implementation of this operation.
The EIB will play a critical role given the difficulty to raise large amount with long tenor from the capital market (very rarely exceeding 20 years), it is expected that EIB financial value will be important by providing a sizeable amount with a long tenor. The Bank's support to the project will support the crowding in of other financiers given its experience the sector. EIB would not be able to provide such type of financing, or not at the same quantum, without the support of InvestEU.
Wind farms adhere to the national legislation having transposed Annex II of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive 2014/52/EU (amending EU Directive 2011/92/EU), thereby leaving it to the competent authority to determine if an EIA is mandatory. Given the projects size, the competent authority required an EIA to be conducted. Compliance of the authorisation process with relevant EU Directives will be verified during appraisal.
It is provisionally understood that the promoter, which is a Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV), is neither a contracting authority nor a public undertaking (in the sense of the EU procurement policies). The promoter do not seek to operate on the basis of special or exclusive right granted by a competent authority in relation to this project. This will be confirmed during appraisal.