This week the financial agreement for the Q7 wind farm off the Dutch coast has been signed. The wind farm will consist of sixty 2 MW wind turbines, 23 kilometres off the coast of the Netherlands. The wind farm is due to be operational at the beginning of 2008.

The Q7 wind farm is owned by Econcern, Energy Investments Holding and Eneco Energie. The financial agreement has been signed with Rabobank and Dexia. Construction company Van Oord will build the wind farm, which will be insured by Delta Lloyd. "This wind farm is a milestone in the development of global offshore wind energy", said Jeppe Machielsen of Eneco Energie (a Dutch supplier). "This is the world’s first wind farm based on ?non-recourse’ project financing (banks don’t need full guarantees for the total amount of money, ed.). Banks have a great trust in this project and don’t need extra guarantees."
The Q7 wind farm is also the first in the world to be built this far from the coastline, in water 19 to 24 metres deep.

Belgium One week earlier, Econcern revealed plans to build a 330 MW wind farm 46 kilometres off the Belgian coast. Belwind, a daughter company of Econcern, applied for the concession in April 2006. As Belwind Director Frank Coenen explains, various phases need to be completed before the wind farm in Bligh Bank can become operational: "After receiving the concession from the Federal Ministry of Energy, we will need permits from the Federal Ministry of the North Sea. In the most favourable situation, we would start building in 2009, and the wind farm would become operational in 2010."