As of: February 7, 2024, 3:46 p.m
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A wind farm lies in the morning snow: Large wind energy companies are currently having a very difficult time.
© Patrick Pleul/dpa
Wind energy companies actually play a key role in the energy transition, but the large companies are struggling with significant problems.
Will the turnaround still succeed?
Düsseldorf/Copenhagen - In the middle of the green electricity boom, the three largest wind energy companies in the world are under enormous pressure: exploding costs, disrupted supply chains, lengthy approval processes and home-made problems are affecting companies such as Siemens Energy, Vestas and Orsted.
“The whole market is tense and tight at the moment,” complained Siemens Energy boss Christian Bruch on Wednesday (February 7) when presenting the quarterly balance sheet.
The industry plays a key role in the energy transition.
Wind turbines on land and at sea are intended to form the backbone of a climate-friendly energy supply in Germany and other European countries.
World's largest wind farm developer presents savings program
The world's largest wind farm developer Orsted has now pulled the ripcord after losses worth billions.
On Wednesday he launched a comprehensive austerity program including job cuts.
The aim is to reduce fixed costs by one billion Danish crowns by 2026.
600 to 800 jobs are to be cut worldwide, and dividends will be canceled for the years 2023 to 2025.
“We are revising our operating model to reduce risks,” said Orsted boss Mads Nipper.
The target for electricity generation capacity by the end of the decade of 50 gigawatts (GW) will be reduced to 35 to 38 GW.
Because costs were getting out of hand and supply chains were stalling, the Danish company has already stopped offshore projects in the USA and Great Britain.
The challenges will continue, said the head of the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, Henrik Andersen.
“The unsettled geopolitical situation, slow procedures and delays in network expansion will continue to cause uncertainty in 2024.” Vestas managed to return to profitability last year.
But there should be no dividend.
Siemens Energy wants to profit from power plant construction
The energy technology group Siemens Energy only managed to achieve a profit after taxes of 1.6 billion euros in the first quarter of its 2024 financial year thanks to the sale of investments.
The result was once again severely impacted by the Spanish wind turbine subsidiary Siemens Gamesa, which is struggling with quality deficiencies.
“We continue to focus on solving the quality problems in our onshore wind business and exploiting the growth potential for the rest of the company,” emphasized CEO Christian Bruch.
Overall, the expansion of renewable energies and networks in this country is progressing too slowly.
China is the leader worldwide.
Siemens Energy has been struggling with high losses at Gamesa for years.
The wind energy business with onshore systems is struggling with quality defects.
The area with systems for operation on the high seas (offshore) is having start-up problems in new plants.
The group, whose business with gas turbines and networks is booming, has orders worth 118 billion euros on its books - more than ever before.
At Gamesa, however, Bruch expects a loss before special items of around two billion euros in 2024.
Siemens Energy wants to benefit from the federal government's power plant strategy.
“We assume that some projects will end up with us.” The tenders should come this year.
(Reuters, lf)