Clifford Chance has advised RheinEnergie AG on the project agreements and financing for the upgrading and extension of the Niehl 3 combined cycle power plant in Cologne.

The EUR 202 million financing was arranged jointly by Helaba (as mandated lead arranger and agent), Commerzbank and NRW.BANK.

The new combined cycle block is due to become operational in 2016. It will have an output of 450 MW and will provide electricity to up to one million homes. The combined cycle (power/heat) will also provide up to 265 MW of heat.

RheinEnergie AG, a municipal energy provider for the Cologne area, supplies around 2.5 million private and corporate customers with power, water and a range of other services.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Björn Heinlein (Energy, Frankfurt) and Tobias Schulten (Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt) and comprised senior associate Michael Brill and associate Anna Brinkmeier (both Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt), counsel Dr. Mathias Elspass (Environment), partner Reinhard Scheer-Hennings and senior associate Patrick Härle (both Real Estate), associate Martin Weitenberg (Energy), partner Dr. Christoph Witte and senior associate Dr. Werner Brickwedde (both Corporate) and partner Dr. Joachim Schütze (State Aid) – all Düsseldorf.