DLA Piper has advised Norddeutsche LandesbanK (NORD/LB) on the project financing for the construction and operation of a wind farm in the United Kingdom for German developer Energiekontor. The overall financing volume amounts to GBP 10.4 million.

The Withernwick II project will have four Senvion MM92 turbines with a total capacity of 8.2MW with commissioning planned for 2019. It is an extension to the original 18.45MW Withernwick I project which has been operational since 2013 and was also financed by NORD/LB.

The project is located in East Yorkshire and benefits from a long-term PPA with an international consumer goods company. It is the first project financed, subsidy-free onshore wind project in the UK, based on a corporate PPA.

DLA Piper’s cross-border team was led by Leeds-based global Co-Chair of Energy and Natural Resources, Natasha Luther-Jones, assisted by Finance & Projects senior associate Robert Cockburn and associate Jacques Camilleri. The Frankfurt-based team was led by Finance & Projects partner Torsten Pokropp, assisted by counsel Robert Hofbauer and senior associate Marc Kirchner. Leeds-based Real Estate partner Andrew Clarke and legal director Stacey Brook also advised on the deal.

Commenting on the deal, Natasha Luther-Jones, said: "We are delighted to have worked with Energiekontor and NORD/LB on this ground breaking project which we believe to be the first non-subsidy on-shore wind project in the UK which had the benefit of a corporate PPA."

Heiko Ludwig, Head of NORD/LB's European Energy & Infrastructure Origination division, said: "We are delighted to have been able to support our client, Energiekontor, with this forward-looking financing structure based on a corporate PPA in a subsidy free project. We are currently in a rapidly changing, but also very competitive, market environment, in which NORD/LB continues to provide a high level of structuring and innovation to project sponsors."