Struggling Senvion boosted by project installations

Senvion has completed installation of three wind farms in Chile and Australia, meeting what its CEO Yves Rannou described as a "key challenge" for the cash-strapped manufacturer.

Aela Energia's 170MW Sarco project (above) consists of 50 Senvion 3.4M114 turbines

It has installed turbines at the 170MW Sarco and 129MW Aurora projects in Chile owned by Aela Energia, a joint venture of Actis (60%) and Mainstream Renewable Power (40%). The manufacturer also completed installation at Pacific Hydro’s 80MW Crowlands site in Australia, the company announced.

Commissioning is now underway at all three wind farms, Senvion added.

The manufacturer has now installed 475MW in the first five months of 2019, compared to 256MW in the corresponding period in 2018 – an 86% increase year on year.

CEO Yves Rannou said: "We are making solid progress in our execution.

"We have shown that we were able to streamline the installations – one of our key challenges and main tasks during the last few months."

Senvion entered a "self-administration" process in April, after making "operational mistakes" that had created a cash-flow crisis for the company.

Later that month it secured a €100 million loan from existing lenders, enabling the company to continue operations and enact its restructuring plan as it navigates the administration process.