EnBW shifts its focus to renewables

GERMANY: EnBW, Germany's third-biggest utility, is gearing up for a massive increase in the amount of renewable power it generates as part of a new corporate strategy.

EnBW owns the Baltic 1 offshore wind farm

By 2020 the company plans to have sold €2.7 billion of assets in conventional power generation and distribution networks while investing €7 billion to expand its wind and water power operations.

The new strategy aims to raise the share of renewable energy EnBW generates from the current figure of 12% to 40% by the end of the decade. Onshore wind power generation will grow from around 200MW today to 1750MW by 2020 and offshore wind power has been identified as another key growth option.

"Continuing as previously is not an option," said CEO Frank Mastiaux. "We need to direct our activities and investments where our customers' demand lies, and where we can reliably generate satisfactory earnings in the future."

EnBW is aiming to bolster its co-operation with local authorities and municipal utilities to distinguish itself from the traditional energy supplier image. The company also plans to simplify and streamline its corporate and management structure to enable it to respond more quickly to customer demand.