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UK Export Finance (UKEF) has guaranteed £380 million in
financing for one of Asia’s largest-ever offshore wind
projects
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UKEF is supporting the 1 GW Hai Long project on the condition
that it buys from the UK, creating over £130 million in
confirmed UK manufacturing and service contracts
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This brings UKEF’s support to date for clean-energy projects
in the Asia-Pacific region to over £1.2 billion and marks
UKEF’s latest collaboration with Japanese institutions
UK Export Finance (UKEF) has agreed to support a Taiwanese
offshore wind project with its largest ever project financing
guarantee for renewables, securing over £130 million in UK
manufacturing and service exports.
The government export credit agency is supporting the Hai Long
project – Taiwan’s largest offshore wind project to date – with a
guarantee for NT$15 billion of financing, equivalent to £380
million. This contribution supports a project financing package
of over £3 billion issued by more than 15 lenders to the Hai Long
project, which is being developed by Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
(“Mitsui”) of Japan and Northland Power of Canada. UKEF was one
of seven export credit agencies which guaranteed this financing.
UKEF issued the guarantee under its Buyer Credit facility on the
condition that the Hai Long project procures from the UK supply
chain, sealing new export opportunities for UK manufacturers.
With the 1 GW facility expected to power over one million
households upon completion, this transaction also sees UKEF
continue to widen its portfolio of renewable-energy projects
which support global efforts to transition towards net zero. This
is UKEF’s fourth deal supporting an offshore wind project in
Taiwan and brings UKEF’s total commitment to clean energy
projects in the Asia Pacific region to over £1.2 billion.
Tim Reid, CEO of UK Export Finance, said:
Clean energy projects like Hai Long are a priority for UK Export
Finance as we engage with global efforts to reach net zero. With
the recent OECD Arrangement modernisation increasing the range of
support which we can offer for climate-friendly projects, we can
expect to see and support more multi-agency transactions like
this in the future that will benefit British businesses.
Ryo Zushiden, GM of 2nd Dept, Division I (Asia),
Infrastructure Projects Business Unit of Mitsui, said:
Mitsui aims to boost renewable energy projects to account for
more than 30% of its power generation portfolio by 2030 and to
accomplish this goal, Hai Long Offshore Wind Project is one of
Mitsui’s most important investments in renewable energy sector.
Mitsui appreciates the robust support and commitment to Hai Long
that UK Export Finance provides which will strongly help drive
Mitsui’s clean energy strategy.
Mike Crawley, CEO of Northland Power, said:
The Hai Long financing is Northland’s first in Asia and once
operational, the project will diversify our cash flows and
provide significant value for our shareholders. Hai Long will
play an important role in helping the Government of Taiwan
achieve its renewable energy target of 15 GW of offshore wind.
Northland strongly appreciates the important role that UKEF has
played in the Hai Long project financing.
