wpd AG
The developer and operator of onshore and offshore wind farms
from Bremen today counts around 1,200 employées. The wpd
Group has already realised wind power projects with around
1,700 turbines and an output of over 3,000 mégawatts, and is
planning projects with 6,700 mégawatts around the world. With
a pipeline of 6,400 mégawatts, wpd is also one of the leading
European developers of offshore wind farms. More than 160 employées are currently working on the implémentation of 13 projects in Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The
teams expérience speaks for itself: in the past, it has already
succeeded in obtaining approvals for ten projects in Germany,
France and Sweden; in addition, purchasing management for
three projects with a total volume of 2.5 billion euros has been
successfully completed and construction management for two
projects efficiently realised: besides Butendiek, the offshore wind
farm, Baltic I, the first commercial wind farm in German waters.
wpd Manager Berge Olsen calls this shareholder structure
"ground-breaking". "With Butendiek, we are showing that it is
possible to réalisé offshore wind projects without investors from
the classic power industry." In saying this, Berge Olsen is referring
to a debate that for years has paralysed and divided the German
wind industry at least. Many protagonists who in Germany helped
wind power on land to break through on the basis of their Personal commitment, willingness to take risks and their own money,
rejected the exploitation of wind power at sea - and continue to
do so. They fear a double monopoly run by the major power producers, E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall. For years, these major
corporations controlled electricity génération in Germany thanks
to the imposing number of their fossil-fuel and nuclear power
stations; together their share was over 90 percent at times. In
view of the need to invest billions for a wind farm on the high
seas, many players in the wind power business feared that the
major electricity companies would dominate the field of offshore
wind power - thus creating the double monopoly on land and at
sea.
The realities in the energy sector hâve long since banished
these fears: the major energy companies' interest in offshore
wind power is nothing like as big as had been assumed a decade
ago. With the energy turnaround in Germany which was politically
motivated by the nuclear disaster of Fukushima in the spring of
2011, these companies hâve to contend with falling Wholesale
electricity prices. They are earning significantly less money with
their power plants than at the turn of the century. This is precisely
the money that they now lack for investing, for example, in offshore wind farms.
This gaping hole is being filled by so-called institutional investors similar to the ones wpd recruited for the Butendiek offshore
wind farm. "In Butendiek we hâve certainly created a prime example of an alternative finance path", says Berge Olsen. Alternative
because wpd has taken a new route. For example, Butendiek's
shareholders hâve taken on the so-called construction risk which
means they are financially involved from the outset and do not
buy into an already finished project at a later date as is usually
the case. "This shows that among financial investors, taking a
stake in an offshore wind farm is increasingly comparable to traditional infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads or power
plants", says Achim Berge Olsen summing up the situation.
Butendiek's shareholders raised around 450 million euros of
equity for financing the Butendiek offshore wind farm which in
total will cost around 1.3 billion euros. Most of the remaining
amount was provided by a multinational bank consortium under the leadership of the three so-called lead arrangers, KfW
IPEX, UniCredit and Bremer Landesbank. This bank consortium
comprises the European Investment Bank, KfW Fôrderbank, the
Danish Eksport Kredit Fonden as well as BayernLB, HeLaBa, HSH
Nordbank, ING, Rabo Bank and SEB.
146
The developer and operator of onshore and offshore wind farms
from Bremen today counts around 1,200 employées. The wpd
Group has already realised wind power projects with around
1,700 turbines and an output of over 3,000 mégawatts, and is
planning projects with 6,700 mégawatts around the world. With
a pipeline of 6,400 mégawatts, wpd is also one of the leading
European developers of offshore wind farms. More than 160 employées are currently working on the implémentation of 13 projects in Germany, France, Finland, Denmark and Sweden. The
teams expérience speaks for itself: in the past, it has already
succeeded in obtaining approvals for ten projects in Germany,
France and Sweden; in addition, purchasing management for
three projects with a total volume of 2.5 billion euros has been
successfully completed and construction management for two
projects efficiently realised: besides Butendiek, the offshore wind
farm, Baltic I, the first commercial wind farm in German waters.
wpd Manager Berge Olsen calls this shareholder structure
"ground-breaking". "With Butendiek, we are showing that it is
possible to réalisé offshore wind projects without investors from
the classic power industry." In saying this, Berge Olsen is referring
to a debate that for years has paralysed and divided the German
wind industry at least. Many protagonists who in Germany helped
wind power on land to break through on the basis of their Personal commitment, willingness to take risks and their own money,
rejected the exploitation of wind power at sea - and continue to
do so. They fear a double monopoly run by the major power producers, E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall. For years, these major
corporations controlled electricity génération in Germany thanks
to the imposing number of their fossil-fuel and nuclear power
stations; together their share was over 90 percent at times. In
view of the need to invest billions for a wind farm on the high
seas, many players in the wind power business feared that the
major electricity companies would dominate the field of offshore
wind power - thus creating the double monopoly on land and at
sea.
The realities in the energy sector hâve long since banished
these fears: the major energy companies' interest in offshore
wind power is nothing like as big as had been assumed a decade
ago. With the energy turnaround in Germany which was politically
motivated by the nuclear disaster of Fukushima in the spring of
2011, these companies hâve to contend with falling Wholesale
electricity prices. They are earning significantly less money with
their power plants than at the turn of the century. This is precisely
the money that they now lack for investing, for example, in offshore wind farms.
This gaping hole is being filled by so-called institutional investors similar to the ones wpd recruited for the Butendiek offshore
wind farm. "In Butendiek we hâve certainly created a prime example of an alternative finance path", says Berge Olsen. Alternative
because wpd has taken a new route. For example, Butendiek's
shareholders hâve taken on the so-called construction risk which
means they are financially involved from the outset and do not
buy into an already finished project at a later date as is usually
the case. "This shows that among financial investors, taking a
stake in an offshore wind farm is increasingly comparable to traditional infrastructure projects such as bridges, roads or power
plants", says Achim Berge Olsen summing up the situation.
Butendiek's shareholders raised around 450 million euros of
equity for financing the Butendiek offshore wind farm which in
total will cost around 1.3 billion euros. Most of the remaining
amount was provided by a multinational bank consortium under the leadership of the three so-called lead arrangers, KfW
IPEX, UniCredit and Bremer Landesbank. This bank consortium
comprises the European Investment Bank, KfW Fôrderbank, the
Danish Eksport Kredit Fonden as well as BayernLB, HeLaBa, HSH
Nordbank, ING, Rabo Bank and SEB.
146