Nordex, Gamesa & Co: Boost for wind power – Who really benefits from the expansion of renewables

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by Stephan Bauer and Marian Kopocz, Euro am Sonntag

Dhe gas crisis is showing the whole of Germany how urgent it is to provide alternative energy sources in this country. In the short term, Economics Minister Robert Habeck wants to use coal-fired power plants for the power supply that have already been shut down or are about to be shut down. In the longer term, however, the energy supply for industry and households should be secured through the expansion of regenerative energy sources. An important pillar: wind power.

The aim of the Berlin traffic light coalition is to increase the installed capacity to 115 gigawatts instead of the previously planned 71 gigawatts by the end of the decade. At the end of last year, plants with a power generation capacity of 56 gigawatts were on the soil of the republic, but only almost two gigawatts of new turbines were added. The pace must therefore increase significantly.

In order to speed up the expansion, Habeck presented his “Easter package” at the beginning of April, a draft law which, in addition to the increased expansion targets, is intended to ensure simplified implementation. An important point here: the removal of bureaucratic hurdles in the designation of areas suitable for wind power.

A few days ago, the Berlin cabinet introduced the so-called “wind on land law” that is to be passed before the summer break. The core: According to the will of the federal government, every 50th square meter in Germany, i.e. two percent of the area, should be used to generate electricity from wind power by 2032 at the latest.

So far, politicians have not even come close to achieving this goal. According to current figures, only 0.8 percent of the land area has been designated for wind power generation. However, according to the Federal Building Ministry, only 0.5 percent is actually used.

In the Wind-on-Land Act, the federal states are to be obliged, depending on the wind frequency, to use a full 0.5 to 2.2 percent of their land area for wind power by 2032 at the latest – city states will receive relief. So far, some federal states have hid behind distance regulations that determine how far a wind turbine must be from the nearest residential building. In Bavaria, for example, there is the ten-H rule, which specifies a minimum distance of ten times the height of the wind turbine to the next residential building. As a result, the expansion of wind power in Bavaria practically came to a complete standstill. If a federal state does not manage to achieve the area target in the future, this distance regulation can probably be overturned in the future.

There is a lot of catching up to do

The law could give the wind power industry in Germany a massive boost. It is obvious that there is a clear need to catch up in the planning and implementation of wind turbines. A study also brought interesting results to light: the Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology, together with the environmental planning office Bosch & Partner and the German Wind Energy Association e. V. (BWE) the area potential in Germany. The result: “There is demonstrably more than enough space in the large federal states. The area potential for the expansion of wind energy and thus sufficient energy production is clearly available.” That can help with the goal of the coalition agreement: by 2030, 80 percent of the electricity should come from renewable energies.

Turbine manufacturers such as Vestas, Nordex and Siemens Gamesa will benefit from the politically desired expansion. However, the plant manufacturers are currently having many problems due to high material and logistics costs and tight supply chains. The recent weak figures from Nordex, which has just carried out a capital increase, and the repeated profit warnings from Siemens Gamesa clearly show that the industry is under great pressure.

The situation is different for project planners and operators of wind farms. They are benefiting from the electricity prices, which have risen significantly during the crisis. Due to the peculiarities of the German feed-in tariffs for wind power, the revenues here rose sharply.

The expansion of projectable areas in Germany should also boost business in the future. So far, the slow expansion due to bureaucracy and lengthy procedures, for example after complaints from citizens’ groups, has been one of the main limitations. The new legal formula in the Easter package, according to which renewable energies will in future be in the overriding public interest and serve public safety, is likely to result in the expansion being given priority in future court assessments. By 2025, the annual expansion of wind capacity in Germany should increase to ten gigawatts per year and remain at this level until 2030.

Focus on Germany

With its clear business focus in Germany, Bremer Energiekontor is one of the editors’ favourites. The northern lights build wind and solar parks and sell them to institutional investors. About half of the new capacities will be transferred to the company’s own stock. The people of Bremen generate energy in their own parks and sell them on the electricity market at the significantly improved conditions. In Germany, the company operates 29 wind farms with a recent generation capacity of around 220 megawatts, plus wind farms in Great Britain and Portugal.

Another player is Encavis. In addition to operating onshore wind farms in Germany and other European countries, the Hamburg company is also active in solar energy. In the first quarter, the solar division accounted for more than 50 million of the 90 million euros in sales. However, wind turbines in Germany and Denmark made a particularly high contribution to growth.

Wiesbadener Abo Wind is less focused on Germany and more broadly positioned. The developer is currently realizing renewable energy projects in 16 countries. The company not only plans and builds wind farms and solar systems, but is also involved in battery and hydrogen projects.

INVESTOR INFO

The people of Bremen set up wind and solar parks and sell the projects. In addition, they operate their own parks, which generate cash for new projects. Focus is Germany. In 2021, Energiekontor presented the best company result in history. Sales rose from 146.6 million euros in 2020 to 156.5 million euros, and net profit increased from 20.4 million euros to 36.2 million euros. A ten to 20 percent increase in earnings is planned for 2022.

The project developer, which focuses on renewable energies, has its main focus on solar power, which in 2021 still contributed more than two thirds of the turnover of 332 million euros. Due to the better wind yield in the first quarter and, above all, much higher sales prices, the proportion of wind has recently increased significantly. Analysts expect sales to increase by 13 percent in 2022, while profits are expected to fall slightly. The stock is expensive.

The company has a broader base than its competitors. In addition to solar and wind, the Hessians are also active in battery and hydrogen projects. In 2021, Abo Wind achieved a profit of 13.8 million euros from a turnover of 127 million euros. The project pipeline is well filled, and a seven percent increase in profit is expected for 2022. Speculative.

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Image sources: claffra / Shutterstock.com, BESTWEB / Shutterstock.com