PNE makes board changes, appoints interim CEO as Lesser departs

German renewables developer and wind power producer PNE AG (ETR:PNE3) on Friday appointed an interim CEO, ahead of the planned departure of incumbent CEO Markus Lesser at the end of this month, and announced a capacity milestone for its wind operations.

Per Hornung Pedersen, currently the chairman of PNE’s supervisory board, will act as the company’s CEO until a replacement is found. He will take the new role from August 1, 2024, and will resign from the supervisory board, remaining in the interim position initially until March 31, 2025.

Supervisory board member Marc van’t Noordende will initially succeed Pedersen as board chairman until a suitable candidate for the post is found on a permanent basis.

As earlier announced, Markus Lesser will step down on July 31, 2024, due to personal reasons. The search is meanwhile ongoing to find a new CEO and talks are now in an advanced stage, PNE said.

In another reshuffling move, PNE has appointed Roland Stanze, currently division head and executive vice president, as management board member and chief operating officer (COO). He will step into the new role on August 1, 2024.

WIND OPERATIONS

PNE separately announced the commissioning of two wind farms in its home country, which have lifted the installed capacity of its operational portfolio to 412.1 MW. Specifically, the company brought online seven turbines totalling 42.6 MW at the Schenklengsfeld and Heidmoor wind farms, adding to the two generators commissioned in early 2024. The plants have a combined capacity of 55.8 MW and will generate enough electricity to supply 31,300 three-person households.

The Schenklengsfeld wind farm in the central state of Hesse is equipped with three Siemens SG155 turbines of 6.6 MW each. The 36-MW Heidmoor plant, sited in the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein, uses six Vestas machines.

PNE aims to have 1.5 GW of wind and solar farms in operation or under construction by 2027. The company is now building nine wind parks totalling 226 MW.

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