Deepwater Wind says that it has secured all debt and equity funding needed to build and operate the Block Island wind farm - the USA's first offshore wind farm.
Deepwater Wind Block Island announced in early March that it had reached financial close on more than $290 million in project financing for the 30 MW wind facility. The mandated lead arrangers of the finance were France's Societe Generale and Ohio, USA-based KeyBank National Association.
Construction has already started on Block Island, located three miles off the south-east coast of Block Island in Rhode Island. It will consist of five Alstom Haliade 150-6.0MW wind turbines, capable of generating over 125 000 MWhs annually.
Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski said that the firm was "ecstatic" to have achieved the "critical milestone" of financial close. "We're full speed ahead and moving ever closer to 'steel in the water'," he added.
According to Deepwater, Alstom has already completed fabrication in Denmark of all 15 blades for the project, while Gulf Island Fabrication has started work on the wind farm's five steel jacket foundations.
The foundations are scheduled to be installed in the water this summer, with project completed scheduled for the end of 2016.
"We are on the cusp of bringing offshore wind from theory to reality in the US," said Grybowski said. "We've brought together some of the best American and European expertise to build an outstanding project and finance team. We're poised to launch a new American clean-tech industry, and it all starts here with our work on the Block Island wind farm."
Mott MacDonald acted as lenders' technical advisor during the project's due diligence phase and is now monitoring construction as independent engineer in an ongoing role.
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