National Wealth Fund accelerates offshore wind rollout with £1 billion backing for 2.8GW of new offshore wind capacity

• The Fund’s lending forms part of £12.8 billion financing package from a consortium of lenders to support the construction of RWE and KKR’s Norfolk Vanguard East & West projects - the largest ever project financing in UK offshore wind. 
• The projects’ combined 2.8 GW of capacity – enough to supply the equivalent of around three million UK homes - will accelerate the deployment of clean, affordable, homegrown energy to millions of UK households and businesses. 
• National Wealth Fund’s involvement widens the pool of capital available to offshore wind developers and helps to meet unprecedented liquidity requirements after the success of AR7.  

The National Wealth Fund has today announced two £500 million commitments for each of RWE and KKR’s Vanguard West and Vanguard East windfarms off the coast of Norfolk, for a total commitment of £1 billion.   

With financial close reached for both projects, approximately £13 billion of project-backed financing has been secured from a consortium of 35 international banks including the National Wealth Fund. KKR has also acquired a 50% equity stake in each of Vanguard West and Vanguard East, formally establishing the 50:50 joint venture with RWE. 

The success of the Government’s Allocation Round 7 (AR7) in January earlier this year saw 8.4GW of potential new capacity awarded Contracts for Difference (CfD), making it the largest offshore wind auction in Europe to date. The scale of this roll-out will require those successful projects to raise tens of billions of pounds to finance construction, with the National Wealth Fund’s support for Vanguard East & West ensuring that developers can access a wider pool of capital that ensures the deployment of these critical projects.   

The projects’ combined 2.8 GW of capacity is enough to supply the equivalent of around three million UK homes and marks another important step towards a more resilient and affordable home-grown energy system. Importantly, Vanguard’s Norfolk location materially enhances the cost‑effective delivery of offshore wind due to its proximity to areas of high energy demand in the south of England, reducing transmission distances, lowering grid‑constraints, and decreasing the system‑integration costs relative to more remote sites.  

In addition, the National Wealth Fund estimates that, during construction, the projects will create and support around 2,300¹ jobs each year, both directly and indirectly through the supply chain, plus over 100 long-term permanent jobs during the operational phase. Preparatory works are already well advanced for offshore construction, which is set to begin in early 2027. 

Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey said:

“Britain’s clean energy industry is essential to drive good growth, bring down energy bills, strengthen our energy security and create well paid jobs across the country.

“This investment from the National Wealth Fund will help unlock around £13 billion of financing for new offshore wind – a huge uptick in capability that could power the equivalent of around three million UK homes and supporting over 2,400 jobs.” 

Oliver Holbourn, National Wealth Fund CEO, said:

“With recent volatility in global energy markets, the need for a reliable source of affordable homegrown renewable energy has never been stronger. Offshore wind is part of that mix, but it needs very significant investment, at pace. That's where the National Wealth Fund comes in, widening the pools of capital available and reinforcing momentum in the sector.”   

Fixed bottom offshore wind is a central pillar of the UK Government’s clean energy strategy and is expected to form the backbone of the nation’s clean power system by 2050. In its recent Strategic Plan, the National Wealth Fund outlined how it would support the delivery of core infrastructure projects through the deployment of debt and guarantee financing in fixed offshore wind.   

[1] Estimates based on initial and preliminary assessment by Baringa, November 2026, based on expenditure spend on UK goods and services associated with construction only.