Vanguard wind farms reach financial close as Berwick Bank B turbine deal lands

Investors in the Vanguard offshore wind farms off the Norfolk coast have reached financial close, and the government says the project will support thousands of jobs. The announcement came as Prime Minister Andy Burnham travelled to Türkiye for the COP31 summit on 11 November 2026.

The government highlighted £1 billion invested through the National Wealth Fund (NWF) in the 2.8GW scheme, alongside RWE and the private equity firm KKR. RWE said the project financing package includes a consortium of 35 international banks and is the largest ever project financing in UK offshore wind. Euler Hermes, part of Allianz, and Denmark's export and investment fund EIFO also contributed.

The government also confirmed that SSE Renewables will work with Siemens Energy on a phase of its 4.1GW Berwick Bank project off the coast of Edinburgh. SSE Renewables said Berwick Bank B will back 2,677 skilled manufacturing jobs.

SSE has contracted Siemens Energy to manufacture wind turbines and substation platforms, potentially at its factory in Hull. SSE has also agreed a deal to make Montrose Port its preferred location for the operations and maintenance base for Berwick Bank.

At full capacity, Berwick Bank could become the world's largest offshore wind farm, able to meet more than 6% of current UK electricity demand.

The choice of Siemens Energy raises questions over the future of a potential investment in the Port of Leith by Vestas, a rival European turbine maker.

Burnham called the investment "a vote of confidence for building in Britain" and said public money through the NWF is working alongside private capital, with a return for the taxpayer.

SSE chief executive Martin Pibworth described the projects as "public-private partnership in action", pointing to jobs, skills and manufacturing in places from Hull, Newcastle and Manchester to Glasgow and Montrose.