Generating green electricity for the equivalent of over 1 million households in Germany
EnBW, a leading developer in offshore wind, is building one of Germany’s largest offshore wind farms, He Dreiht, in the North Sea. Societe Generale has been advising EnBW in the context of the project for almost two years.
The subsidy-free offshore wind farm is currently one of the largest energy transition projects in Europe. Located approximately 85 kilometers northwest of the island of Borkum and approximately 110 kilometers west of Heligoland, the He Dreiht wind farm should be operational by the end of 2025. With an investment cost of around €2.4 billion, it is expected to generate green electricity for the equivalent of 1.1 million households.
The final investment decision on the 960-megawatt farm, which will be realized without any state subsidies, was made in late March of 2023. As part of the project, EnBW sold a 49.9% minority stake to a consortium consisting of Allianz Capital Partners, AIP and Norges Bank Investment Management, bringing highly professional and experienced partners on board even before construction has started.
With He Dreiht, we are building one of Germany’s largest offshore wind farms. This wouldn’t have been possible without dedicated team work on all sides, including our banking partner Societe Generale, which was able to deliver tailor-made advisory services every step of the way.
Societe Generale has accompanied this landmark renewable energy project, which will play a key role in the German energy transition, for almost two years and acted as Sole Financial Advisor to EnBW. The advisory assignment encompassed M&A, potential project finance as well as support on agreeing several long-term power purchase agreements with blue chip corporates.
Societe Generale is proud to support EnBW, a leader in implementing the energy transition in Germany. The project constitutes a remarkable success involving several parts of the bank and once again demonstrated our ability to accompany our clients in their energy transition from the initial preparation phase to final execution.
As noted by EnBW CEO Andreas Schell, long planning horizons and extensive preparatory work in the offshore wind industry require a high degree of foresight, expertise and readiness to make decisions and invest. This is what marks the project an important milestone in accelerating Germany’s way to a carbon-free energy future. It also contributes to EnBW’s compelling ESG story with the target towards climate neutrality in 2035 and helps put EnBW in position to accelerate its complete exit from coal-fired power generation by 2028.
This deal demonstrated the perfect collaboration between the client and the Societe Generale Industry M&A, Financing Advisory and Germany client coverage teams. It also further helps solidify our continued commitment to sustainable finance projects in the German-speaking region.