Offshore Wind and other Renewable Energy Infrastructure Financing 2010: Bridging the funding gap

9 December 2010

Offshore Wind And Other Renewable Energy Infrastructure Financing 2010
Bridging the funding gap
Thursday 9th December 2010
Le Meridien Piccadilly, London W1

The measures announced in the Government's recent Spending Review were certainly very supportive of the Government's objective to deliver 30% of electricity generation from renewable sources by 2020. The creation of a Green Investment Bank, capitalised initially with a £1 billion spending allocation but with significant further capital to follow to be provided from the sale of Government-owned assets, should catalyse additional investment in green infrastructure. The Spending Review also confirmed an additional £200 million for low -carbon technologies, including for offshore wind technology and manufacturing infrastructure at port sites.

While these measures are to be welcomed, the Government's renewable energy target remains very challenging. If it is to be met, it is clear that offshore wind will have to play a very significant role. It will need to deliver some 12GW, or 45% of the additional circa 27GW of renewable energy generation required to reach the 2020 target. Given that only 0.3GW of offshore wind capacity was completed in the UK in 2009, there will need to be a rapid increase in the pace of development.

The biggest barrier to making this happen is the difficulty that developers face in securing pre-construction financing. This timely conference brings together a speaker panel of exceptional quality to discuss the key issues in the round:

· The role of the private sector in delivering the Government’s energy plans
· The prioritisation of energy projects within the National Infrastructure Plan
· Ofgem’s perspective on regulation and investment in energy infrastructure
· Addressing the urgent need for planning reform
· Underpinning the price of carbon – the thinking behind the Government’s proposals
· Impact of the Government’s proposals on electricity market reform
· Contribution and role of the Green Investment Bank
· The finance need, gap analysis and the current capacity of the various financing sources
· Balance sheet versus project financing
· Attracting pension funds and other institutional investors into the market
· Developments in the debt capital markets
· The potential role of private equity investment
· Critical success factors in project financing
· Update on financing offshore transmission infrastructure
· Managing technology and other risks in offshore wind projects

Attendance at this event will be very useful for all those involved in the renewable energy infrastructure market, including utility companies, project sponsors, developers, manufacturers, bankers, investors, technical consultants, lawyers and other advisers. 

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