German utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) plans further investments in the expanding offshore wind sector to substitute its loss-making gas and power plants, Reuters reports.
SWM has already invested around EUR 3 billion in renewables and the company intends to add further investments to the tally, preferably through offshore wind-related joint ventures, the company’s CEO Florian Bieberbach said in an interview with Reuters.
Bieberbach also said that even though SWM currently owns minority stakes in three operating offshore wind farms, DanTysk, Gwynt y Mor and Global Tech I, the company now feels strong enough to hold a majority stake in an offshore wind project if necessary.
SWM also controls a 49% share of the 288MW Sandbank offshore wind farm project located in German North Sea and scheduled for commissioning in 2017.
One third of energy production and one fifth of the company’s operating profit in 2015 came from renewables. SWM invests around EUR 400 million in renewables every year, a trend which started ten years ago when the company made its last investment into conventional energy sources.
Offshore WIND Staff