The 396MW Merkur offshore wind development project has closed.

Merkur is a construction-ready wind farm located approximately 45km north of the islands of Borkum, Germany, in the North Sea. A total capital investment of €1.6 billion ($1.96 billion) was raised from equity investors and bank lenders on a non-recourse project financing basis.

Close to €500 million ($613 billion)in equity was provided by a consortium of five sponsors comprising of Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager (with a 50% equity share on behalf of its clients); InfraRed Capital Partners, the infrastructure and real estate investment manager (with a 25% equity share on behalf of its infrastructure investors); DEME Concessions Wind, the infrastructure investment arm of the DEME Group (12.5%); GE Energy Financial Services, the energy investing arm of the General Electric (6.25%) and ADEME, acting in the name and on behalf of the French State (6.25%).

Jérôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy said: “This is a significant milestone for both the Merkur Offshore project and the European offshore wind industry. Securing this funding ensures the first large-scale commercial deployment of our state-of-the-art Haliade 150-6MW offshore wind turbine in Europe. The Merkur project also signals our continued commitment to the development of offshore wind farms around the world.”