Taiwan, 29 October 2019 - Formosa 2 offshore wind farm reached financial close on 29 October 2019. A financial consortium of 20 international and local Taiwanese institutions has completed this NT$62.4bn project financing.
Formosa 2 is being jointly developed by Macquarie's Green Investment Group* and Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy). After two years of development, the project will now enter the construction phase. Formosa 2 will have a total capacity of 376MW and is located 4 to 10 kilometres off the coast of Miaoli. Once complete, Formosa 2 will consist of 47 8MW offshore wind turbines which will produce enough clean electricity for 380,000 Taiwanese households.
Formosa 2 has collaborated with a number of Taiwan and global contractors including Fortune Electric, Jan De Nul, Siemens Gamesa and Taiwan Port Corporation for the construction of the offshore wind farm comprising of the onshore power system, underwater infrastructure, submarine cables, wind turbines and the assembly harbour.
The financing consortium comprises six local Taiwanese financial institutions (Taiwan Life, Entie Commercial Bank, E.SUN Commercial Bank, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, KGI Bank and Cathay United Bank) and 14 international banks (ANZ Banking Group, BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, DBS Bank, HSBC, ING Bank, MUFG Bank, Natixis, OCBC, Siemens Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). Local Taiwanese financial institutions will provide approximately 30% of the project financing. The financing consortium is supported by a number of export credit agencies.
The significant interest shown by the financial consortium reflects the attractiveness of the Formosa 2 project and the offshore wind market in Taiwan.
"We are delighted to announce Formosa 2's financial close, the project marks another important step in Taiwan's renewable energy transition. GIG is committed to supporting Taiwan achieve its green energy ambitions and, together with Formosa 1 and Formosa 3, our projects could deliver up to 2.5GW of offshore wind energy." said Mark Dooley, Global head of Macquarie's Green Investment Group. "Taiwan is fast becoming Asia's foremost offshore wind market and we are proud to be playing a leading role in its offshore wind story."
Robert Tsai, Chairman of Formosa 2, said: "Just recently, Formosa 1, the project initiated by Synera(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy), had completed its installation and it will be starting its commercial operation witnessed by domestic and international banks. We believe this will boost the confidence of the banks in the financial close of offshore wind project. We are pleased that Formosa 2 also successfully achieved Financial Close. We are honoured to have more financial institutions than before to participate in Formosa 2 Financial Close. This success will no doubt bring confidence to the team and we will deliver the Project on time and on quality to set another milestone for the 5.7GW offshore wind capacity by 2025."
Lucas Lin, CEO of Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy), said: "Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy) is a pioneer of offshore wind energy in Taiwan and we are pleased to see our second project, Formosa II, reach Financial Close, which is a significant milestone towards meeting Taiwan's renewable energy objectives. Together with Formosa I, Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy) has successfully developed over 500MW of offshore wind energy in Taiwan. With the support of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, its equity investor, we look forward to playing a leading role in the development of offshore wind in Taiwan and the region, integrating global offshore wind experience with local insights, and building the domestic knowledge base and supply chain. We are delighted to be a 25% owner of Formosa II, and are excited to collaborate with Macquarie Capital and leading global contractors to deliver the project."
Kimberly Cram, Formosa 2 Project Director, said "As Formosa 2 progresses through its construction phase it will benefit from the collaboration of both local and international contractors during the works – Fortune Electric will deliver the onshore infrastructure required to connect the project to the local electricity network, Jan de Nul will deliver the foundations and offshore cables and Siemens Gamesa will deliver the wind turbines."
Notes to editors
*Macquarie Capital has announced it will now develop and invest in green energy projects in Taiwan through Macquarie's Green Investment Group (GIG) platform. GIG is Macquarie's global platform for principal investment in the green economy and its mission is to accelerate the transition to a greener global economy. For more information about GIG, please see below.
About Green Investment Group and Macquarie Group
Macquarie's Green Investment Group (GIG) is a specialist in green infrastructure principal investment, development, project delivery, and the management of portfolio assets, and related services. Its track record, expertise and capability make it a global leader in green investment, dedicated to supporting the growth of the global green economy.
The institution was initially launched by the UK Government in 2012 as the Green Investment Bank (GIB) - the first institution of its type in the world. It was purchased by Macquarie in 2017 and combined with Macquarie Capital's renewables team to create one of the world's largest teams of specialist green investors. Now operating as Macquarie's Green Investment Group, the platform has more than 400 staff working in over 15 countries across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia, combining international best practice from across Macquarie's activities.
Across the globe, GIG has supported 16 offshore wind projects, representing over 4.5 GW of operating capacity including almost 50% of the UK's offshore wind capacity in operations or under construction.
Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie) is a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management and finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs 15,715 people in 30 markets. At 31 March 2019, Macquarie had assets under management of £305.8 billion.
For more information, visit www.greeninvestmentgroup.com and www.macquarie.com.
About Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy)
Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy) is a leading Taiwanese offshore wind developer, pioneering the sector in Taiwan through the development of Formosa I (128MW – to be fully operational by end of 2019), Formosa II (376MW – Financial Close in October 2019) and Formosa III (2.0GW – under development). Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy) is focused on the development, construction and operation of offshore wind farms in Taiwan and the region. Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy) owns 25% of Formosa II and with the support of Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, its equity investor, will continue to play a leadership role in the offshore wind sector in Taiwan and across Asia.
Media contacts
Macquarie
Ida Cheung | ida.cheung@macquarie.com | +852 3922 3615
Janet Jin | janet.jin@macquarie.com | +852 3922 4772
Synera Renewable(formerly known as Swancor Renewable Energy)
Regina Liu | regina.liu@swancor-renewable.com | +886 2 27751387
Synera Holding
TM Tsai | tm.tsai@swancor.com | +886 2 27751387