A consortium of 35 international banks has assembled the largest non-recourse project financing ever secured for UK offshore wind, totaling £11.1 billion in cash facilities plus an additional £1.7 billion in ancillary support.
The capital will fund construction of the Vanguard West and Vanguard East offshore wind developments in the North Sea, representing what is widely regarded as Britain’s biggest-ever renewable energy investment at $16 billion (£12 billion).
German utility RWE (ETR: RWE) and global investment firm KKR (NYSE: KKR) have reached financial close on both projects after formalizing a 50:50 joint venture, with KKR acquiring an equal stake in each development.
Situated between 50 and 80 kilometers off the Norfolk coast, the two wind farms will together deliver 2.8 gigawatts of generating capacity, split evenly at 1.4 gigawatts apiece.
That output is projected to supply electricity to roughly 3 million British homes while sustaining more than 2,400 jobs throughout the construction phase.
The financing package includes a £1 billion commitment from the UK’s National Wealth Fund, with additional credit support provided by Germany’s Euler Hermes and Denmark’s EIFO, broadening the deal’s international backing.
RWE led the structuring of the financing arrangement, working alongside KKR Capital Markets earlier this year to execute the transaction at its current scale.
Revenue certainty underpins the economics: both projects secured 20-year contracts for difference through January’s Allocation Round 7 auction at a strike price of £91.20 per megawatt-hour in 2024 prices.
RWE Chief Executive Markus Krebber said that preparatory work already underway means offshore construction is positioned to begin by early 2027, with coordinated grid infrastructure planned to reduce environmental and community disruption during the build phase.
Vincent Policard, Co-Head of KKR’s European Infrastructure business, pointed to Britain’s structural advantages, arguing the country offers “vast opportunities for long-term economic growth and energy security through such essential infrastructure projects.”
The deal arrives as the UK cements its standing as one of the world’s premier offshore wind markets, with installed operating capacity already exceeding 16 gigawatts and a national target to surpass 43 gigawatts by 2030.
Government data released earlier this year confirmed that offshore wind delivered a record 52 terawatt-hours in 2025, representing a 17.9 percent share of total UK power generation, up from 48.8 terawatt-hours and a 17 percent share the prior year.
The Vanguard projects, once operational, will add meaningfully to that tally and help close the gap between current capacity and the government’s ambitious decade-end goal.
