German utility RWE and US private equity firm KKR have agreed to invest around £12 billion ($16.02 billion) in offshore wind projects in Britain, they said on Wednesday, in one of the biggest renewables investments the country has ever seen.
The investment will fund the Norfolk Vanguard West and Vanguard East offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast. The projects reached financial close on Wednesday, with construction set to begin early next year and the farms expected to be fully commissioned in 2030.
The two wind farms will generate around 2.8 gigawatts of power, enough to supply about three million homes, RWE said. The investment includes equity commitments from both firms, financing from a consortium of international lenders and £1 billion from the state-owned National Wealth Fund. The government said the projects would support more than 2,400 jobs during construction and operation.
The companies had announced their joint venture partnership in January. The financial closing comes as world leaders gather for the COP31 climate talks in Antalya, Turkey, where British Prime Minister Andy Burnham — the only leader from a G7 country scheduled to address the summit — welcomed the investment ahead of his speech on Thursday.
