Vestas receives 165 MW offshore order in Belgium

Vestas (CPH:VWS) has recently received an order for an offshore wind power plant with a total capacity of 165 MW.Bligh Bank Offshore Wind Farm will be developed with of 55 units of the V90-3.0 MW wind turbine and will be located 46 km off the coast of Zeebrugge. This zone is specially dedicated for construction of wind farms by the Belgian Government.                                

The order has been placed by Belwind N.V. owned by a consortium of Belgian and Dutch investors. The order comprises design, delivery, installation, testing and commissioning of the 55 wind turbines as well as a five-year service and       
availability agreement. Dutch contractor Van Oord Dredging and Marine          
Contractors bv will be responsible responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction part of the project.  

“We are proud to be supplying turbines for the Bligh Bank Offshore Wind Farm.  
Furthermore, we are very pleased to see this group of investors showing their  
confidence in the potential of offshore wind and we look forward to securing   
them a successful implementation of the project,” states Anders Søe-Jensen,    
President of Vestas Offshore, and he continues to elaborate on Vestas’         
determination to remain strong in offshore wind: “Vestas is a leading, global  
player in the wind market and we have been driving the offshore wind industry  
from the very beginning. Being in the offshore market requires some very       
specific knowledge and skills – both of which Vestas possesses – and the Bligh 
Bank Offshore Wind Farm order truly shows Vestas’ dedication and commitment to 
remain strongly focused on this market.”                                       

Delivery and installation of the turbines, including full power production is  
expected to take place during 2010 whereas final completion of the offshore wind
farm is expected in early 2011.                                                

Frank Coenen of Belwind N.V. states: “This 165 MW wind farm is the first phase 
of the 330 MW Belwind project. We look forward to working together with Vestas 
and Van Oord on the construction of the project which is a major step forward in
realising the Belgian renewable energy targets. We are proud of our investors  
and banks, who enabled us to realise this investment in difficult financial    
times.”                                                                        

The project is financed on a non-recourse basis. This is the first offshore    
transaction to be project financed since the financial crisis started. This was
made possible due to credit risk guarantees provided by Eksport Kredit Fonden  
(EKF), the Danish Export Credit Agency and financing provided by the European  
Investment Bank (EIB). Furthermore, a package of structured credit facilities  
has been provided by ASN Bank, Dexia Bank Belgium, Dexia Crédit Local and      
Rabobank International.                                                        

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