The Hai Long offshore wind project under development in the Taiwanese Strait has secured a US$3.6bn financing package from a syndicate of international banks, local lenders and export credit agencies (ECAs).

The Hai Long project is expected to be one of the largest offshore wind farms in Asia once operational, slated for 2026, and will generate enough clean energy to power more than a million Taiwanese households.

The project, which is backed by Canadian power company Northland Power and Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, is part of the Taiwanese government’s wider push to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The NT$117bn facility is being co-financed by a cluster of commercial financial institutions, alongside the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and the Korea Development Bank.

ANZ, Crédit Agricole CIB, CTBC Bank, DBS, Deutsche Bank, Fubon Insurance, HSBC, Mizuho Bank, SBI Shinsei Bank, SMBC, Standard Chartered, Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank and Taiwan Life Insurance are all participating lenders.

Financing is being covered by insurance or guarantees from several Asian, North American and European ECAs, including Credendo, Export Development Canada, Export Finance Australia, Export Finance Norway, JBIC, Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, and UK Export Finance (UKEF).

Clifford Chance, one of the law firms advising the ECAs and lenders on the deal, says the transaction amounts to the largest ever non-recourse offshore wind project financing in the Asia region.

“Clean energy projects like Hai Long are a priority for UK Export Finance as we engage with global efforts to reach net zero. With the recent OECD Arrangement modernisation increasing the range of support which we can offer for climate-friendly projects, we can expect to see and support more multi-agency transactions like this in the future that will benefit British businesses,” says Tim Reid, UKEF’s CEO.

There has been a string of offshore wind financings in Taiwan in recent years, with the Formosa 2 and Yunlin projects having agreed multi-billion dollar deals in 2019. A year later, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners closed a US$3bn ECA-backed project financing deal to construct the Changfang and Xidao wind farm.

Law firm Linklaters, who advised the corporates involved in the Hai Long project financing, says Gentari International Renewables will acquire 49% of Northland Power’s ownership interest shortly after financial close.