Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation has acquired a 30 % stake in Northwester 2, an offshore wind farm development in Belgium.
The acquisition represents Sumitomo’s fourth joint project with developer Parkwind in Belgium, and will see the two companies working together to develop, construct and operate the 219 MW wind farm.
It will also add to Sumitomo’s wind power project portfolio in Japan, Europe, the USA, South Africa and China.
Northwester 2 is currently being developed in the North Sea, 52 km off the coast of Belgium. The project will cost £630 million to build, with funds to be procured primarily through non-recourse project finance, Sumitomo said.
Construction of Northwester 2 is set to begin later in 2018 and will conclude in 2020. It will comprise 23 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines.
Sumitomo is backing two other offshore wind projects in Belgium – the 216 MW Northwind project and the 165 Nobelwind venture. In the UK, it is behind the 336 MW Galloper wind farm and the 573 MW Race Bank development.
