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Arcadis Ost 1 reaches financial close on global wind day

published on 15/06/2021

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Parkwind has the pleasure of announcing that the 257MW Arcadis Ost 1 offshore wind farm reached financial close . The project raised about EUR 570m of debt from a group of nine lenders: KBC Bank, Belfius Bank, Helaba, KfW IPEX-Bank, Coöperatieve Rabobank, Société Générale, ING Bank, EKF Danmarks Eksportkredit and the European Investment Bank.

Leveraging on 10 years of offshore wind experience in Belgium, Parkwind now launches the construction of its first German project, setting new standards with innovative installation methods. The wind farm will be located in the German territorial waters of the Baltic Sea, northeast of the island of Rügen. It will generate green energy to power the equivalent of up to 290,000 households as of 2023.

After being successful in the 2018 auction, the project was awarded a market premium and recently obtained its permit in March 2021. Offshore installation works are due to begin in 2022 and the wind farm is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Ralf Bauer, Head of Corporate Finance at Parkwind, commented: “Finalizing the development of the project and reaching financial close has shown the dedication, professionalism and resilience of the whole Parkwind team and its advisors. We are proud to see this reflected in the confidence of the financial markets.”

Eric Antoons, co-CEO of Parkwind, commented: “Being joined by such a strong group of lenders gives us further confidence in the pursuit of our mission and our ambition to grow internationally. We now focus on delivering the project and contributing to Germany’s transition towards renewable energy sources.”

Clément Helbig de Balzac, Arcadis Ost 1 Project Director, added: “After three years of intense development works, the Parkwind team can be proud of securing the financial close of Arcadis Ost 1. With the group of world class contractors that we have formed, the support of the local authorities and now, our lenders, Arcadis Ost 1 can begin its execution phase and will ultimately become an integrated part of Germany’s energy transition.”

Christian Pegel, the Minister for Energy and Infrastructure of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, said: “Since the approval of the first offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea in 2011, offshore wind has not only contributed to the energy transition, but also to an enormous economic development in our region. With Arcadis Ost 1, now the fourth offshore wind farm off the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, we are continuing this success story. In the future, we want to use offshore wind to generate climate-neutral hydrogen, making our region even more attractive for new businesses.”

Vestas will supply the 27 V174 – 9,5MW wind turbine generators; Heerema will be performing the turbine installation with the recently developed floating installation method; Bladt Industries will deliver the offshore substation; DEME Offshore with its state-of-the-art installation vessel Orion will install the XXL monopiles fabricated by Steelwind; JDR will be delivering the inter-array cables and Global Marine performing the installation of these cables. The wind farm will connect to the 50Hertz grid.

Parkwind has led the financing process together with Jones Day and Chatham Partners acting as sponsors’ legal advisors. The lenders were advised by Loyens & Loeff and Watson Farley & Williams while Mott MacDonald acted as lenders’ technical advisor.

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For additional information and press inquiries contact:

Vedran Horvat

Parkwind Communications Officer

vedran.horvat@parkwind.eu

+32 471 63 82 01

About Parkwind

Parkwind is an independent green energy company that develops, finances and operates offshore wind farms. With more than a decade of experience and 771 MW under operational management in the Belgian North Sea, Parkwind is currently expanding internationally. With active projects at various stages of development, such as Arcadis Ost 1 (DE) or Oriel (IRL), Parkwind is set to add another 1.1 GW of capacity under its management.

Committed to making green energy available and affordable for everyone through its unique approach covering the entire value chain of offshore wind, Parkwind has established itself as a reliable and competitive partner to communities, governments and suppliers globally.

Composed of over 120 professionals operating from offices in Belgium and Ireland, Parkwind leads the offshore wind energy activities of its Belgian shareholder Virya, which is owned by the Colruyt Group and Korys. Learn more at www.parkwind.eu

About Arcadis Ost 1

Arcadis Ost 1 is a 257MW offshore wind farm developed in the German territorial waters of the Baltic Sea, northeast of the island of Rügen. Arcadis Ost 1 has been developed by Parkwind with the participation of PMV and OstseeWindEnergie GmbH , a project company of the three partners Oberhessische Versorgungsbetriebe AG ,Stadtwerke Bad Vilbel and WV Energie AG.

The wind farm will begin operations in 2023 and will supply enough green energy to power an equivalent of up to 290,000 households.

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Maarten van der Horst

Head of Projects

Maarten joined Parkwind and more specifically the Oriel project team in early 2021. He brings 17 years of experience in the energy industry having worked at Engie's renewables arm first as an engineer, later as offshore specialist.

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Wim Verrept

IT Services Manager

He joined Parkwind in 2016 as risk manager, during the installation phase of Nobelwind. Since then his responsibilities have expanded to include IT and the QHSSE department. Before joining the company, he worked as a risk manager at large financial institution in Belgium.
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Ingrid Dony

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Ingrid joined Parkwind in 2013 and manages the Human Resources department. Her expertise in corporate HR has created the foundations in Parkwind’s evolving and rapidly growing employee and consultant base. Her team manages everything from payroll to employee development and communications. She has been instrumental in preparing the organization for international expansion and the digitalization of numerous HR legal and administrative tools.

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Dirk Dewettinck

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At Parkwind since 2015 he manages the engineering resources involved in project development, design and construction. He was closely involved in the technical management of the Nobelwind and Northwester 2 projects. Prior to joining Parkwind, he was involved in other offshore wind projects, working for a major wind turbine supplier, and prior to that he worked for more than 15 years with major engineering contractors in projects around the world, mainly in the conventional power generation construction and services (steam, gas, nuclear).
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Clément Helbig de Balzac

Project Director Arcadis Ost 1

Joining Parkwind in 2011 as a project finance specialist and he was heavily involved in the financing and construction of Northwind and Nobelwind. Thereafter, as project finance manager, he led the financing process of Northwester 2 and the refinancing of three operational offshore wind farms of the Parkwind portfolio. He is also involved in business development projects for his expertise lies in financing processes, construction contract negotiation, contracting strategy and development and construction management.
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Edward Van Melkebeek

Head of Technology

Since joining Parkwind in 2018, he has been leading the Technology team responsible for leveraging Parkwind’s know-how in civil, electrical and WTG packages to development of new projects. The team also performs a supply chain role, managing technical aspects of project contracts. Previously, he has built extensive practical and managerial experience in the offshore construction business for over 22 years at a global leading dredging and offshore contractor strongly active in the offshore wind industry.
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Mathias Van Steenwinkel

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Kristof Verlinden

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With Parkwind since 2010, he is responsible for the asset management and production management of all of Parkwind’s offshore operational assets. The O&M organization plays a pivotal role in project development incorporating strategic insight to ensure frictionless O&M operations from the moment of first production. The team also supplies external support services, is involved in numerous R&D initiatives with universities and wind farm performance analysis using state of the art data systems. Kristof joined Parkwind with an engineering background in international service support business and wind turbine driveline design validation.
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Pieter Marinus

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Peter Caluwaerts

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After years of building extensive experience in large construction works, he started his career in offshore wind in 2010 by taking up the role of CLO of Parkwind, responsible for regulatory, legal and contracting matters for Belwind and Northwind windfarms. Since then, as Project Director, he’s led the Northwester 2 project completed in 2020 and is now responsible for Parkwind’s Irish projects Oriel and Clogherhead. He plays an instrumental role in organizing Parkwind’s international expansion and growth.
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Eric Antoons

co-CEO

Before joining the company in 2013, he worked for one of the largest power and gas suppliers in Belgium, in both operational and executive functions. Joining Parkwind in 2013 as COO, he supervised the construction of three wind farm projects and the considerable growth of O&M activities. Since becoming co-CEO in 2016, he has also developed Parkwind’s R&D activities to the forefront partnering with universities and several technology start-ups.
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François Van Leeuw

co-CEO

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Paul Tummers

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Arriving to Parkwind in 2019, after a broad career in energy and infrastructure, he has taken a leading role in Parkwind’s international expansion from both corporate finance and organizational restructuring.