Sustainable Biz Magazine - Magazine - Page 7
Barclays supports offshore wind farm
which aims to supply 50 percent of
Scotland’s electricity
M
oray West, part of the Ocean
Winds portfolio, has secured a
£95.5 million loan from Barclays
to support the next phase of the project’s
construction as part of a wider syndicated
£2 billion loan injection which closed in
April 2023.
Barclays acted as a sole pre-hedge execution
for the project executing interest rate,
inflation and FX hedges, protecting
the project and its stakeholders from
adverse market movements in a volatile
macroeconomic backdrop.
“Our close working
relationship with Barclays has
given us the support required
to meet the UK and Scottish
government renewable energy
targets.”
Financial close has ensured that the project
can move to the next phase of supply chain
activity, with installation works due to
commence later this year.
Adam Morrison, project director at Moray
West, said: “The support of Barclays has
contributed to Moray West reaching
financial closure. This means we are now
on track to commence the next phase of the
project which will see the installation of the
wind farm in late 2023.
Barclays remains as one of only seven
banks which have supported two projectfinanced offshore wind farms involved in
the Contract for Difference* allocation
rounds in the UK looking to innovate with
sophisticated offtake agreement strategies.**
It executed the hedges at the point the
project was awarded the Contract for
Difference in July 2022 and then syndicated
them to the lending banks at financial close.
Barclays has particular expertise around
the inflation hedge which is highly illiquid,
however it is able to place on the back of its
first in class distribution platform.
Jamie Grant, Managing Director of Barclays
Corporate Banking in Scotland, added:
“Barclays expertise and sophisticated
approach to the financing of such a major
development in Scotland’s green economy
reinforces our ability to support key clients
in the renewables sector which look to
innovate with revenue offtake strategies.
With the commodity cost escalations that
have been experienced recently, it is likely
that more renewable developers will also
consider innovation with their offtake
strategies and we are well placed to support
projects like Moray West.”
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