EIB lends EUR 1.2bn to RWE for Thor offshore wind project

The European Investment Bank (EIB) on Monday announced a EUR-1.2-billion loan to German energy company RWE AG (ETR:RWE) to support the construction of the 1.1-GW Thor offshore wind farm in the Danish North Sea.

The wind park will be Denmark’s largest, featuring 72 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines of 15 MW each. The project is situated off the west coast of Jutland, about 22 kilometres (13.7 miles) from Thorsminde in Holstebro municipality.

The main offshore installation activities are set to take place in 2025 and 2026, with plans for the wind farm to be fully operational by the end of 2027. Onshore cable works for the project started in April.

The EIB explained that its loan will help finance monopile foundations, turbines, inter-array cabling, an offshore converter station, export cables, a section of onshore cables and an onshore substation.

RWE CFO Michael Mueller said the loan is at attractive terms and helps to further diversify the company’s funding sources. RWE plans to invest EUR 55 billion in renewables, batteries, flexible generation and hydrogen projects between 2024 and 2030.

“A large offshore wind farm that can provide power to more than a million households supports the transition to a net zero economy in Europe, fostering one of the big priorities of European Union for a better and resilient future of citizens,” commented EIB vice-president Nicola Beer.

RWE secured the concession to build the Thor offshore wind farm in late 2021.

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