SSE and Equinor to proceed with $4 bln Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm

OSLO, Dec 2 (Reuters) - British utility SSE and
Norwegian energy company Equinor have secured
financing to proceed with the construction of the 3 billion
pound ($3.98 billion) Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm in
Britain, the companies said on Thursday.

Dogger Bank C will have a capacity of 1,200 megawatts (MW)
and generate about 6,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity a
year when completed in 2026, the companies said.

It is the third phase of what the partners say will be the
world's largest offshore wind farm, with installed capacity of
3,600 MW. The companies said this is enough renewable energy to
supply 5% of Britain's demand, equivalent to six million homes.

The financing deal followed news last week that Dogger Bank
C had secured long-term power deals with Danish energy trading
company Danske Commodities, oil major Shell and utility
Centrica.

The total senior debt facilities agreed are for 2.5 billion
pounds, plus ancillary facilities of about 0.4 billion pounds,
with a group of lenders comprising 28 banks and three export
credit agencies, SSE and Equinor said.

"The significant appetite from lenders underpins the
attractiveness of UK offshore wind assets," said Paal Eitrheim,
Equinor's head of renewables.

The two companies have previously agreed to sell a 20% stake
in the Dogger Bank C project to Italy's Eni, which
already owns an equal share in the first two phases of Dogger
Bank.

Construction of the first two phases is under way after a
financing deal in September 2020.
($1 = 0.7528 pounds)

(Reporting by Nora Buli
Editing by Terje Solsvik and David Goodman)