Hai Long Offshore Wind Project, together with the financial advisor, Cathay United Bank (CUB) held the 2023 Hai Long Offshore Wind Project Finance Seminar on February 17th and 18th. With the support from Thomas White, the representative of Hai Long’s international financial advisor, the Hai Long management team and shareholder representatives conducted a face-to-face, in-depth and active dialog with the bankers' group, delving into different aspects of the project, including project progress, risk control, shareholder movements, and financing progress. Over 20 local financial institutions, including state-owned banks, commercial banks, and life insurance companies participated.
Tim Kittelhake, the new CEO of the Hai Long project, led the team to present and answer in detail the questions raised by the financial institutions. Tim Kittelhake has been deeply involved in the renewable energy industry for more than 15 years and is familiar with all stages of the wind farm—the development, construction, and operation. He has managed multiple onshore and offshore wind energy projects in Germany, France, and Canada, which amount to a total investment of more than 6 billion euros, with a cumulative commercial capacity exceeding 2,000MW.
Tim Kittelhake’s involvement in the Hai Long project symbolizes that the project has now entered the construction stage. The representatives from the three shareholders— Northland Power Inc., Yushan Energy, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd.— also attended the seminar to showcase the significance of the project to them and their commitment to the project.
The aim of this seminar was to create an opportunity for face-to-face discussions with local financial institutions on all aspects of the Hai Long project, and for Hai Long to respond to questions and clarify doubts. Tim Kittelhake said, “The project team and shareholders highly value the support of Taiwan's local financial industry. We take this opportunity to update the current project progress, introduce our project team and partners with rich experience, and explain Hai Long’s rigorous risk management and control mechanism. We are confident we will complete the wind farm construction on schedule and spec."
So Hagiwara, Deputy Chief Financial and Administration Officer of the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project added, "Once the Hai Long project achieves financial close, it will become Taiwan's largest project financing of the offshore wind industry, and also the single project with the highest export credit agency (Export Credit Agency, ECA) guarantee ratio in Taiwan. This will be an iconic case for Taiwan's financial industry to participate in offshore wind energy development. I believe the thorough presentation and substantial evidence, coupled with the determination and sincerity shown by shareholders at the seminar will be beneficial to the banks’ evaluation.”
The financial institutions participating in the seminar also gave high recognition to Hai Long shareholders for their continuous injection of funds to ensure that the project can progress on schedule and with high quality. This seminar also provides the opportunity for clarifications of rumors on the market and enables the financial institutions’ better understanding of the full picture of the project, and furthermore, their realization of the determination of the shareholders and the team to develop the project. Tim Kittelhake pointed out after the seminar, "I believe that local financial institutions will have more confidence in participating in Hai Long's syndicated loan."
The Hai Long Offshore Wind Project is located off the coast of Changhua County, including Hai Long 2A (300MW), 2B (232MW), and 3 (512MW). These projects are developed together by Northland Power Inc., Yu Shan Energy, and Mitsui & Co.
The offshore construction work of the Hai Long Offshore Wind Project will start in 2024. The project will be able to provide over 1GW of clean energy to more than 1 million households. The allocated capacity totals 1,044MW and is expected to reach COD between 2025 and 2026. Hai Long Project and will be the biggest single offshore wind project in Taiwan, once in operation.
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Media Contact
Hai Long Offshore Wind
Jewell Hsu, Senior Public Relations Manager
+886-900-841-211 / jewell.hsu@hailongoffshorewind.com
