2020/04/22

Aloys Wobben Foundation and EWE are joining forces to develop wind energy

The two companies plan to establish a joint venture. The existing ENERCON and EWE wind farms and project pipelines are to be consolidated.

Aurich/Oldenburg, Germany. In order to drive the expansion of onshore wind energy, the Aloys Wobben Foundation, sole shareholder of Aurich-based wind turbine manufacturer ENERCON, and Oldenburg-based energy service provider EWE are aiming to set up a joint venture. The partnership aims to significantly and sustainably increase the share of renewable energies across sectors. Following the signature of a letter of intent, representatives of EWE and the Aloys Wobben Foundation announced that the joint venture would manage the existing wind farms and project pipelines contributed by both partners. The intention is to jointly generate domestic and international growth, as well as to exploit the resulting opportunities in the energy industry.

“The establishment of the joint venture will allow ENERCON to focus primarily on its core competencies, namely the development, construction, distribution and servicing of wind power facilities, in the future,” says Heiko Janssen, Chief Executive Officer of the Aloys Wobben Foundation. “This means that the planned joint venture with EWE will play a key role, from the perspective of the Aloys Wobben Foundation, in the current realignment of the ENERCON Group and offers good opportunities for the further development of the value of existing wind farms and the project pipeline hand-in-hand with a regional partner,” continues Janssen. He explained that the ENERCON Group’s aim in connection with the establishment of a joint venture would be to use the consolidated resources for ENERCON’s realignment in the systems business, in particular.

“We share a common vision with the Aloys Wobben Foundation, namely that of a climate-friendly energy supply based on renewable energies. This makes the expansion of wind power a key strategic growth area from EWE’s perspective,” explains Stefan Dohler, Chief Executive Officer of EWE AG. Both companies have strong roots in northwest Germany, are ranked among the pioneers of wind energy use in Germany and have frequently been involved in close dialogue regarding possible innovations and cooperation opportunities for some years now. “As a result, combining the joint potential and experience to the benefit of a climate-friendly future of energy for the people of the region is a natural and sensible step,” says Dohler. Furthermore, the planned partnership – after the establishment of Glasfaser Nordwest with Deutsche Telekom in January 2020 – is in harmony with the strategy to implement major infrastructure projects with strong partners whenever possible.

As things stand at the moment, the joint venture would comprise existing systems with capacity of around 2,500 megawatts (MW) and a project pipeline of around 2,300 MW. The plan is for both partners to hold equal shares in the joint venture. Corporate management would lie within EWE’s remit, while the Aloys Wobben Foundation would appoint the chair of the Supervisory Board. The aim is to conclude the talks on the further details of the cooperation in the course of the year.