GLOBAL TECH I OFFSHORE WINDPARK

The project would concern one of the many large scale offshore wind farms, envisaged to be built in the German Exclusive Economic Zone of the North Sea. It is designed for a nominal capacity of 400 MW and would supply electricity to the national transmission grid via a long subsea cable.

The German government has set its objective to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to at least 20% by 2020 and to 50% by 2050. A major element in achieving this target is to further develop the capacity of the offshore wind energy sector.

By virtue of its technical characteristics the project falls under Annex II of EIA-Directive 85/337/EEC (as amended). According to national regulations the project is subject to a full mandatory EIA including public consultation, which has been carried out accordingly. The competent authorities granted a conditional approval after extensive public consultation and confirmed with the permit that significant negative impacts on nature conservation sites can be excluded. Further details of the environmental due diligence procedures applied by the promoter will be assessed by the Bank during appraisal.

The project is not subject to public procurement according to the Utilities Directive 2004/17/EC, as the promoter (SPV) is neither a public undertaking in the sense of Directive - the municipal utilities are only minority shareholders of the entity- nor does the project enjoy any special or exclusive rights. The rights to develop an offshore wind in EEZ are granted by the government through the permit approval of the competent authority on objective, proportionate and non-discriminatory criteria according to national legislation. The Bank will however ensure that the procurement procedures to be applied comply with the Bank’s principles and its statute, i.e. works, goods and services will be appropriately selected and are offered at competitive prices. The wind farm will be built under various contracts involving highly specialised components. Details will be verified during appraisal.