Buoyant RWE plans €5Bn investment in wind and solar

RWE chief executive Dr Rolf Martin Schmitz said, “Fiscal 2019 was an outstanding year. As one of the world’s leading producers of electricity from renewables, we have an ambitious goal: we want to be carbon neutral by 2040.

“We are making very good progress. Since 2012, we have cut our carbon emissions in half. Our operating activities achieved an excellent result. We have an outstanding basis from which to resolutely expand our business and achieve value-added growth.”

In 2019, RWE exceeded targets it announced at the beginning of the year. It said the €5Bn it plans to invest “has the potential to rise significantly through contributions from partners.” Of the net investment planned, 20% is earmarked for Germany.

RWE currently has a portfolio of wind and solar power assets amounting to approximately 9 GW and a stable earnings profile.

The company said its focus in terms of growth lies in core markets in Europe and North America as well the Asia Pacific region. The company said it expects its business to grow by between 7% and 10% every year from 2020 to 2022. The company’s core business has four segments: offshore wind, onshore wind/solar, hydro/biomass/gas, and supply and trading.

The company reported improved earnings from its portfolio of offshore wind projects in 2019 due to higher wind speeds. This segment is expected to post €0.9Bn to €1.1Bn in adjusted EBITDA in the current year. The pro forma figure for 2019 as a whole was €961M.