One of Germany’s most experienced offshore wind developers, PNE Wind, insists it is close to agreeing the sale of its 252MW Gode Wind II project. If this is achieved, the company should be able to return to profit, having recorded an operating loss of €1.1m for the first three months of 2012 (Q1).
Releasing its Q1 results, PNE Wind said that its "search for a new purchaser for the Gode Wind II project is … making progress" and that it is "confident" it will conclude the sale this year.
At the end of last year, PNE Wind announced that Danish private equity firm, Brancor Capital Partners, would buy Gode Wind II. However, the deal fell through in March, after Brancor failed to make its first two payments.
PNE Wind is currently developing six offshore wind projects, including Gode Wind II. Once built, these will have a generating capacity of 2.1GW. In addition, the company provides consultancy services to other offshore developers whose projects have a cumulative capacity of 1.8GW. PNE Wind’s offshore track record includes development of Borkum Riffgrund I and II, both of which it sold to Dong, and Nautilus II.
If Gode Wind II is sold soon, as planned, PNE Wind expects to deliver a profit for the 2011-13 period of €60m-€72m.
Earlier this year, PNE Wind chair, Martin Billhardt, said: "We are confident that we will soon find a partner for the construction of the wind farm because "Gode Wind II" is one of the few projects which already have a secure grid connection – an important aspect for German offshore wind farms."
The Gode Wind II project will use 84 Vestas V112-3MW turbines.
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