UK Offshore Wind Market: RWE and KKR Secure Record Financing of GBP 12.8 Billion

Essen/London – Energy company RWE and US financial investor KKR have closed the financing for two offshore wind farms in the UK with a combined capacity of around 2.8 GW. The investment volume for Vanguard West and Vanguard East, including grid connection, amounts to around GBP 12 billion. Full commissioning is planned for 2030.

The UK aims to expand its offshore wind capacity to 43 to 50 GW by 2030. After no offshore wind project received an award in 2023, large volumes of capacity were awarded again in the subsequent allocation rounds. The financial close for Vanguard therefore marks an important step from contract award to the realisation of new generation capacity.

35 Banks Finance Offshore Wind Projects – KKR Takes 50 Percent

RWE and KKR have brought together a consortium of 35 international banks to finance the two offshore wind farms. The financing package totals GBP 12.8 billion, comprising GBP 11.1 billion in cash facilities and GBP 1.7 billion in ancillary facilities. According to RWE, it is the largest project financing for offshore wind energy in the UK to date.

The UK’s National Wealth Fund is participating with a financing commitment of GBP 1 billion. The financing is also backed by German federal export credit guarantees (Hermes cover) and cover from the Danish export credit agency EIFO.

RWE and KKR have also completed the equity stake transaction announced in January 2026. KKR now holds 50 percent each in Vanguard West and Vanguard East. Both partners are providing equity capital. RWE is leading project execution on behalf of the joint venture.

The transaction also has balance-sheet implications for RWE. Following the nine-month figures published on November 11, the company expects its net debt to fall from EUR 17 billion at the end of September to around EUR 12 billion by year-end 2026. RWE cites the deconsolidation of the Vanguard projects as the main reason.

Offshore Construction Planned to Start in Early 2027

The wind farms are being built in the North Sea, around 50 to 80 kilometres off the coast of Norfolk. In the UK allocation round, a combined 3.09 GW of capacity was awarded to the two projects. In fact, RWE is currently planning for an installed capacity of around 1.4 GW each, or 2.8 GW in total. According to the company, together they could, on a calculated basis, supply electricity to around three million UK households.

Onshore cable work and the construction of the substations are already well advanced. Offshore construction is scheduled to begin in early 2027. The first foundations for Vanguard West are planned for the first half of 2027, followed by Vanguard East.

UK Offshore Allocation Rounds: Higher Price Ceilings Following 2023 Round Without Awards

Vanguard West and Vanguard East are among the offshore wind projects that received an award under changed conditions after the UK’s unsuccessful 2023 allocation round. In the seventh allocation round (AR7) in January 2026, both projects secured inflation-indexed Contracts for Difference (CfD) with a term of 20 years and a strike price of GBP 91.20 per MWh in 2024 prices.

In total, around 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity was awarded in AR7, including around 8.2 GW for fixed-foundation projects. The UK government had raised the administrative maximum prices after the unsuccessful 2023 round, as rising project costs had weighed on the economic viability of new projects.

UK Offshore Wind Market: Wide Gap Between Expansion Forecast and Government Target

With its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, the UK government aims to meet at least 95 percent of electricity generation in the UK from low-carbon energy sources by 2030. The government plan provides for an expansion of offshore wind capacity to 43 to 50 GW.

At the end of June 2026, around 17.6 GW of offshore wind capacity was connected to the grid in the UK, according to the European wind energy association WindEurope. In the first half of 2026, 620 MW was added. According to WindEurope’s current forecast, offshore wind capacity will rise to around 30 GW by 2030.

The expected expansion thus remains well below the political target. The financial close for the two Vanguard wind farms, with a combined 2.8 GW, shows the scale that individual projects have now reached. To meet the UK’s 2030 expansion targets, however, significantly more of the offshore wind projects already in planning would need to be financed, built and connected to the grid within a few years.

Source: IWR Online, 12 Nov 2026