Vattenfall Feels Wind Bump

Vattenfall’s Wind Business Area saw an increase in net sales and the underlying operating profit during the first nine months of the year, mainly owing to new capacity and higher production due to stronger winds.

In the last twelve months, Vattenfall commissioned two wind farms, the 29MW Slufterdam onshore wind farm in the Netherlands and 373MW out of a total of 407MW at the Horns Rev 3 offshore wind farm in the Danish Baltic Sea.

Wind’s net sales increased from SEK 7.839 billion (EUR 726.7 million) in the first nine months of 2018 to SEK 9.5 billion in the same period during 2019. The underlying operating profit rose from SEK 1.9 billion in the first nine months of 2018 to SEK 2.47 billion in Q1-Q3 2019.

Vattenfall’s wind farms generated 6.7 TWh of electricity in the first three quarters of 2019, a 26.4% increase compared to 5.3 TWh generated in the first three quarters of 2018.

”Wind power is increasingly significant for Vattenfall’s earnings performance and makes up a growing share of the Group’s total earnings,” Magnus Hall, Vattenfall’s CEO, said.

”For the first nine months of the year we saw a SEK 0.6 billion increase in the underlying operating profit for Wind, which totalled SEK 2.5 billion. More capacity and higher generation as a result of stronger winds made positive contributions.”

Q3 Highlights

During the third quarter, Vattenfall won the tender for the Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ) 3 & 4 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands. Vattenfall already has the permit to build the first stage, HKZ 1 & 2, and potential synergies exist in maintenance and logistics, for example, the company said. Together these projects will have an installed capacity of approximately 1.5GW.

In August, the Sandbank offshore wind farm in Germany received an award from AGOW (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Offshore Wind) for being the most efficient wind farm in Germany in 2018. Additionally, Vattenfall’s Aberdeen Bay offshore wind farm in Scotland was the recipient of the Renewables Award at the P&J Energy Voice Gold Awards. The distinction highlighted the positive effect the wind farm has had on the City of Aberdeen.