Energy transition: Clifford Chance advises commercial lenders and European Investment Bank on €2.1 billion financing of Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised a syndicate of 16 commercial lenders and the European Investment Bank on the €2.1 billion financing of the Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea. The holdco-financing is taken out by Skyborn Renewables, a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), and supports the construction of one of Germany’s most significant energy transition projects and marks a key milestone for the expansion of offshore wind capacity in Germany.

Gennaker is being developed by Skyborn Renewables and is set to become the largest offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea. Stadtwerke München will acquire a 25 per cent equity stake in the project and partner with Skyborn Renewables in the development and construction of the wind farm. The project is backed by a diversified offtake strategy, including long-term power purchase agreements with Amazon and Uniper.

With a planned capacity of up to 976.5 MW, Gennaker is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to power approximately one million households annually once operational. The project is located in German territorial waters off the coast of the Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and will comprise 63 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines with a capacity of 15 MW each.

The project is expected to advance towards construction, with turbine installation scheduled to begin in late summer 2027 and commissioning expected by mid-2028.

Florian Mahler, partner and Co-Head of Clifford Chance’s Worldwide Projects Group, comments:

“Gennaker is a landmark offshore wind project and we are proud to have supported a transaction that will help deliver large-scale renewable energy generation in Germany. Advising the lenders and the European Investment Bank on this highly complex financing demonstrates once again Clifford Chance’s strong offshore wind capabilities and the strength of our international and cross-practice team.”

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Florian Mahler (Project Finance, Düsseldorf) and comprised counsel Mateusz Chruściak (Debt Finance, Warsaw), senior associates Birte Hüller and Brianna Harcus (both Düsseldorf), Benjamin Evans (London, all Project Finance) and Christopher Banks (Debt Finance, Munich), associates Maximilian Schroff (Düsseldorf), Jasmin Sahota and Sailesh Shah (both London, all Project Finance), legal project managers Antonia Sopp (London) and Mark Freake (Frankfurt) as well as senior transaction lawyer Rima Lenders (Project Finance, Düsseldorf). Hedging support was provided by partner David Neu and senior associate Christopher Banks (both Debt Finance, Munich). Corporate and regulatory advice was provided by partners Mathias Elspaß and Tobias Kamerling, of counsel Björn Heinlein, senior associates Duy Tuong Huynh, Louisa Busch and Marie Georgi as well as associate Frederik Roos (all Düsseldorf).

Partner Delphine Siino Courtin and the associates Maxence De Rouville and Manon Guéry (all Project Finance, Paris) acted as special counsel to the European Investment Bank.

Press contact: Nadja Fersch