International law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited on the £2.6bn financing and construction procurement of its 588megawatt, 84 turbine wind project located in the Moray Firth.

The project is funded by 13 commercial lenders, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Danish export credit agency Eksport Kredit Fonden as well as SSE Renewables, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and SDIC Power.

With offshore construction expected to start next year, the Beatrice wind farm represents the largest single investment in an offshore wind project by the EIB to date.

Pinsent Masons advised on the consenting, CfD, energy market regulatory and health and safety aspects of the project.

Beatrice was the first commercial scale offshore wind farm to be consented in Scottish waters and is now the first to reach financial close.  It is the largest project to reach financial close under the CfD regime.  Once constructed, it will produce enough clean energy to power 450,000 homes.The Pinsent Masons team advising on the deal was led by, energy and infrastructure partner, Gordon McCreath working with partner Chris McGarvey, senior associate William Park and associates Emma Reid and Ronan Lambe.

Commenting on the deal Gordon McCreath said:

"Having advised Beatrice through numerous challenges to the successful grant of consent in 2014, it's great to see it now set to become a reality. Throughout our advice on consenting and ecology, licence and CfD issues, health and safety and now property, it's been a real pleasure to help this market-leading project come to life.  Some of the innovative approaches taken have the potential to not just benefit the project, but the offshore wind industry generally."