GE, Citigroup provide financing for first U.S. offshore wind

THE FIRST U.S. wind firm off the shore of Block Island being built by Deepwater Wind LLC is scheduled to begin commercial operations in November. / BLOOMBERG NEWS
THE FIRST U.S. wind firm off the shore of Block Island being built by Deepwater Wind LLC is scheduled to begin commercial operations in November. / BLOOMBERG NEWS

NEW YORK – A General Electric Co. unit and Citigroup Inc. provided tax equity financing to the U.S.’s first offshore wind farm, a 30-megawatt project recently completed in Rhode Island waters.

The company building the project, Deepwater Wind LLC, announced the financing from GE Energy Financial Services and Citigroup in a statement Tuesday, without disclosing the amount. The $300 million project is scheduled to begin commercial operations in November.

A separate GE unit, GE Renewable Energy, supplied the five 6-megawatt wind turbines for the project and will provide long-term maintenance service.

The hedge fund D.E. Shaw & Co. provided about $70 million in equity financing for the project, 3 miles off Block Island. The wind farm also received $290 million in debt financing from Societe Generale SA and KeyBank NA.

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In tax-equity deals, developers with little or no profit sell tax credits they can’t use to investors, which then apply the benefits to their tax bills.

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