UK government’s Green Investment Bank joins E.On to fund Rampion offshore wind farm
The government-backed UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) yesterday announced it has bought a £236m stake in a joint venture with E.On to build and own the Rampion offshore wind farm off the coast of Brighton.
The project is receiving £1.3bn of funding in total, and will continue to be partly owned by Germany’s E.On following construction.
Around 300 jobs will be created during the anticipated three-year construction of the project, while up to 65 full-time employees will be taken on once the wind farm has been commissioned.
According to GIB, the development is expected to generate 1,333 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, which is enough to power around 300,000 homes. Meanwhile, the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that the project will effect is expected to be the equivalent of taking 75,000 cars off the road.
Tony Cocker, E.On’s UK chief executive, said that the £1.3bn investment “could be one of the biggest capital projects confirmed in Britain this year”. He added: “This is an important milestone for what is a strategically important project for the UK.”
GIB boss Shaun Kingsbury said: “Our investment gives the developer the confidence to begin construction on this important offshore wind project.”
Amber Rudd MP, recently appointed secretary of state for energy and climate change, said: “This huge investment is a vote of confidence in the UK, creating local jobs, bringing business opportunities and providing clean, home-grown energy.”
The Rampion development marks the seventh offshore wind sector investment the GIB has made since it was created in 2012. The bank said yesterday that once all seven of the projects are operational, they will provide enough energy to power more than 2m homes.