PNE Wind completes eight wind farms in 2009

GERMANY: German wind developer PNE Wind had a busy 2009, having completed installation of eight wind stations with a total of 120 MW by October, and construction of three further wind farms totalling 18 MW under way in the fourth quarter, all in Germany.

by Staff 1 January 2010

This is a major increase on its 6 MW installation in 2008, 17 MW in 2007 and 100 MW in 2006.

Last year PNE also commissioned its first significant power station to be retained in its portfolio that year, the 25.8 MW Altenbruch 11 station.

PNE has built up a substantial project pipeline. By October 2009, it had 40 approvals for German onshore wind stations totalling 1.08 GW with another 22 permits expected in the short term, adding 346 MW more.

At an earlier onshore planning stage, the company has 464 MW in Germany and 1.7 GW in other countries.

On top of that, its four German North Sea offshore projects total almost 1 GW if 3 MW turbines are used, bringing its pipeline to a grand total of nearly 4.6 GW.

PNE has three further offshore projects to have reached the identification phase - two in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea - which add up to 828 MW, again if 3 MW units are used.

In the first nine months of 2009, PNE reported revenues of EUR102.7 million, up from EUR52 million in the same period of 2008. Earnings before interest and tax reached EUR5.1 million, substantially less than the EUR24.1 million achieved in the first nine months of 2008.

This is explained by the sale of Danish blade company SSP to private equity investor Ventizz Capital Fund IV for EUR34.54 million in 2008, says PNE, a transaction now disputed by Ventizz. (“uåX˜äŠÊ˜·³Ç, November 2009).