Clifford Chance has advised the export credit agencies (ECAs) and lenders on the financing of the construction and operation of the 1,022MW Hai Long offshore wind farm project in Taiwan, which has been jointly developed by Northland Power Inc. and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. with Gentari International Renewables Pte. Ltd set to acquire 49% of Northland Power’s ownership interest.
The project, which comprises the 294MW Hai Long 2A offshore wind farm, the 224MW Hai Long 2B offshore wind farm and the 504MW Hai Long 3 offshore wind farm, is the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan to be banked on the basis of the new corporate power purchase regime and the largest non-recourse offshore wind project financing to date in the region. The financing will be provided by over 15 international and local lenders, with ECA support from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), Export Development Canada (EDC), UK Export Finance (UKEF), Export Finance Norway (Eksfin), Delcredere|Ducroire (Credendo) and Export Finance Australia (EFA).
A cross-border team across Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, DĂĽsseldorf, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and London advised on the financing of the project, led by partners Ross Howard, Florian Mahler and Matthew Buchanan, with support from legal project manager Debby Ratnasari. The core financing team included counsels Sunny Jong and Jason London, senior associates Tom Capel, William Holmden and Desmond Ng, associates Yuri Higashi, Didi Hu, Brianna Harcus and Wen Xiao and trainee associate Haeyoung Kim.
Additional expertise was provided by counsel Marcella Stokell and senior associate James Thornton (construction and procurement due diligence), counsel Miles Binney and associates Leland Hui, Allison Tan and Karen Jiang (hedging), partner Nigel Howorth, senior associate Kirsty Souter and associate Alex Madafiglio (environmental & social matters), counsel Tess Forge and associate Joey Ng (sanctions/regulatory matters), counsel Philip Walsh (ECA cover documents) and partner Hein Tonnaer, senior associate Martine Trip and associate Chris Verheesen (Dutch law matters). Partner Hans Menski and associate Crystal Lim advised the covered lenders in relation to the ECA cover.
Lee and Li acted as local counsel to the financiers.
Ross said, “Set against a backdrop of challenging market conditions, the closing of this project is a significant achievement by all of the stakeholders. This project financing demonstrates that it is still possible to deliver large-scale offshore wind projects in Taiwan and in the APAC region more broadly. We hope that the closing of the Hai Long project could be the key that unlocks the region’s offshore wind potential.”
Florian added, “Our team was able to draw upon our global experience and integrated capabilities in construction, projects and financing to advise on this highly complex multi-source finance transaction. This was a project with stakeholders spanning the globe, from Canada to Australia, and everywhere in between, and is a demonstration of true international cooperation helping to deliver on the energy transition needs of Taiwan.”
Clifford Chance is a market leader in advising on renewable energy projects in Asia Pacific, most recently advising on the 5GW Elanora offshore wind farm project in Victoria, Australia. The firm has also previously advised on some of Taiwan’s most significant offshore wind projects, including CDPQ on its landmark US$2.7 billion acquisition and financing of Greater Changhua 1, the US$2 billion financing of Formosa 2 and the US$627 million financing of Formosa 1 – Taiwan’s first commercial scale and Asia Pacific’s first project financed offshore wind farm.
