Energiekontor realises Withernwick II – the first wind project without state subsidies in the UK

Milestone in the history of the Bremen-based wind energy pioneer

Bremen, 18 May 2018. After signing a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a global company in the consumer goods industry, Energiekontor has achieved the financial close for the English wind farm project, Withernwick II. The economic viability of this project is based solely on the conclusion of this PPA. As far as the Company is aware, Withernwick II is thus the first wind farm project in the UK to be realised without state subsidies.

Withernwick II is an extension of the Withernwick I wind farm that has been part of Energiekontor AG’s portfolio of Group-owned wind farms for several years. The Withernwick II project was approved at the end of 2016 and is located close to the East coast of the English county of Yorkshire. Four wind turbines, each with rated power of 2.05 MW, are to be commissioned by the first quarter of 2019.

Peter Szabo, CEO of Energiekontor AG, comments: “We congratulate our team in the UK on this outstanding success. We are happy that our extensive experience in the UK and the trust that this has borne have again convinced a large industrial partner to sign a PPA. The financial close for the Withernwick II project shows that our efficiency measures to reduce costs are indeed bearing fruit and that we are already able to implement a wind farm profitably at pure market conditions. The project therefore represents a milestone in Energiekontor’s history as it is, as far as we know, the first onshore wind project in the UK to manage without subsidies. This also underlines our pioneering role in the quest to realise wind farms and solar parks with a lower levelized cost of electricity than electricity from fossil and nuclear resources. It is our most important contribution to our vision of a society whose electricity needs are fully covered by renewable energy.”

Energiekontor AG has now published its report on the first quarter. The report can be downloaded from the Company website at: 
https://www.energiekontor.de/en/investor-relations/financial-reports.html

About Energiekontor AG:

For the last 25 years, Energiekontor has stood for a sound approach to business and a wealth of experience in wind power. Formed in Bremerhaven in 1990, the Company was one of the pioneers in the industry and is now one of the leading German project developers. Its core business covers the planning, construction and operational management of wind farms in Germany and abroad, and was expanded to include solar power in 2010. Energiekontor also currently owns and operates 34 wind farms and one solar park with total rated power of nearly 270 megawatts. Now, Energiekontor AG intends to extend its pioneering role to commercial aspects and to realise wind farms and solar parks at market prices without state subsidies in all target markets as quickly as possible.

In addition to its headquarters in Bremen, Energiekontor also maintains offices in Bremerhaven, Hagen im Bremischen, Aachen, Bernau (near Berlin), Potsdam and Dortmund. The Company also has branch offices in England (Leeds), Scotland (Glasgow), Portugal (Lisbon), the Netherlands (Nijmegen), the US (Austin/Texas) and France (Toulouse). The formation of an additional branch office in France is currently in the making.

Our track record speaks for itself: We have realised 118 wind farms with total rated power of around 940 megawatts and three solar parks with total rated power of about 30 megawatts. This corresponds to an investment volume of more than EUR 1.6 billion.

Energiekontor went public on 25 May 2000. The shares of Energiekontor AG (WKN 531350/ISIN DE0005313506) are listed in the General Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and can be traded on all German stock exchanges.