professor

‘The future of wind energy in Europe will be found to a large extent on the open seas’

Per Hornung Pedersen, CEO of REpower Systems

REpower Systems AG

Developer of 2–3.3 MW onshore turbines and a large offshore machine, this major manufacturer is majority held by fellow wind turbine player suzlon

REpower is one of the leading turbine producers in the German wind energy sector where it is the third largest manufacturer.

Founded in 2001, the REpower product range includes turbines between 2 MW–5 MW and to date, its machines have been installed at more than 1500 wind projects. The REpower 5M 5 MW turbine – currently one of the largest in the world with a rotor diameter of 126 metres – has been designed primarily for offshore wind farms and the company is currently installing three of its new 6 MW 6M turbines onshore in Germany. In December 2008 the company completed the assembly of these first three prototype turbines in Bremerhaven.

With approximately 1600 employees, REpower has offices in Germany along with subsidiaries and associated companies in France, Spain, the UK, Greece, Australia, China, Portugal, Italy and elsewhere and the company is actively pursuing an internationalization strategy.

However, due to an expected slow-down of the wind energy market in 2009 – which might be reflected in a stagnating or even slightly declining number of new installations – REpower has adjusted its sales growth forecast for 2009-2010 from the previous estimated 40%–50% to 30%–35%.

According to its results to 30 September 2008, the company’s order backlog amounted to 683 turbines with a total rated power of more than 1434 MW, corresponding to around €1.5 billion, (up from €1.2 billion on the previous year’s figures). For the current fiscal year REpower is expecting an increase in sales to €1.1 billion and an earnings margin of 5.5%–6.5%. Sales in the current reporting period stands at €529.8 million, compared with €275.3 million to the corresponding period in 2007. Net profit rose from €5.0 million to €14.4 million.

REpower expects further strong growth on the global wind energy market in the next years, initiated primarily from Europe and America, Furthermore, the company expects its offshore business to grow, citing 1500 MW installed by 2011 as ‘reasonable’.

In November, REpower and Deutsche Offshore Testfeld und Infrastrukturgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG (DOTI) signed a contract for the supply and installation of six 5M wind turbines for the Alpha Ventus project. The installation of the turbines is expected to begin in the middle of July.