Bank of Ireland is lending £80 million (€91.6 million) for an offshore UK wind farm in one of its largest green investments to date. The bank is part of a consortium of international lenders backing what will be the world’s second largest offshore wind farm when it comes into operation next year.
Located in the North Sea, East Anglia 3 is about 70 miles off the east coast of England and roughly opposite the Dutch coastline. It will have a projected capacity of 1.4 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power the equivalent of more than 1.3 million homes.
When completed, it will feature 95 offshore wind turbine generators and an offshore converter station.
Electricity generated will be transmitted to England via subsea cables. Offshore construction began in April with each foundation measuring up to 85 metres in length and weighing as much as 1,800 tonnes.
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Bank of Ireland worked with 23 other banks and the Danish Export Credit Agency to design and structure financing for the project.
Along with its £98 million financing commitment to Inch Cape, a 1.1 gigawatt wind farm being developed off the east coast of Scotland by Red Rock Renewables and the ESB, Bank of Ireland said East Anglia 3 was its largest green investments to date.
The bank is targeting €30 billion in sustainability-related lending to households and businesses by 2030. It reached the halfway point of that target during the first quarter of this year.
John Feeney, chief executive of Bank of Ireland’s corporate and commercial banking division, said East Anglia 3 is “exactly the kind of transformative investment that Bank of Ireland aims to support”.
He said it would “drive innovation, accelerate the energy transition and deliver lasting environmental and social benefits”.
