RWE chief sees offshore wind expansion at serious risk – report

Feb 13, 2013 – Peter Terium, head of German utility RWE (ETR:RWE), sees significant risks that the offshore wind energy expansion in Germany will be held up by the uncertain framework conditions, which are putting off investors, dpa-AFX reported today.

According to Terium, the government’s goal for installing new wind capacity of 10 GW by 2020 and 25 GW by 2030 is no longer feasible.

While there are sufficient permissions for constructing offshore wind projects in Germany, the delays in connecting the wind parks threaten to undermine the investments, Terium was quoted as saying. Investors thus run high risks of pouring around EUR 1 billion into a new wind park, whose economic efficiency cannot be guaranteed. Furthermore, subsidies for wind power are likely to change again with the planned reforms of the country’s renewable energy act.

Meanwhile, investors can opt for more favourable conditions in other European states, particularly in Great Britain. RWE, for example, operates wind parks with total capacity of more than 1,000 MW abroad, while its installed capacity in the North Sea is around 200 MW.

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