RWE and KKR have reached financial close on Vanguard West and Vanguard East, the two offshore wind farms 50 to 80 kilometres off the Norfolk coast, and completed the 50:50 joint venture the partners announced in January. KKR has acquired a 50 percent equity stake in each project. Together the farms will have a combined capacity of around 2.8 gigawatts, 1.4 gigawatts each, enough once operational to supply the equivalent of around three million UK homes.
The projects represent a total investment of around £12 billion, including the wind farms and their associated transmission infrastructure, supported by equity commitments from both partners. The non-recourse project financing comprises £11.1 billion in cash facilities plus £1.7 billion in ancillary facilities from a consortium of 35 international banks, which RWE said is the largest ever project financing in UK offshore wind. The package includes a £1 billion commitment from the UK’s National Wealth Fund and credit cover from Germany’s Euler Hermes and Denmark’s EIFO, the first participation in a UK offshore wind project financing for both the National Wealth Fund and Euler Hermes.
Both projects hold 20-year inflation-indexed contracts for difference from Allocation Round 7, awarded in January 2026 at a strike price of £91.20 per megawatt hour in 2024 prices. RWE will lead project delivery on behalf of the joint venture. Preparatory onshore cable and substation works are well advanced, offshore construction is set to begin in early 2027 with the first Vanguard West foundations in the first half of that year, and full commissioning of both projects is expected in 2030. Splash247 reported Vestas holds contracts to supply 92 of its 15 megawatt turbines for each project, 184 in total.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham called the investment a vote of confidence for building in Britain, and Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh pointed to the announcement landing as the world gathers at COP31. RWE chief executive Markus Krebber said securing the largest ever project financing in UK offshore wind demonstrated lenders’ trust in the projects, and KKR’s Vincent Policard said delivering at this scale requires substantial private investment of the kind KKR brings as long-term capital.