Vattenfall’s Wind Business Area, the Swedish utility’s sector in charge of wind power operations, ended the first quarter of 2016 with an operating profit before depreciation, amortisation and impairment losses (EBITDA) of SEK 1.5 billion (EUR 164 million), a 12% increase compared to SEK 1.34bn EBITDA recorded in the first quarter of 2015.
Net sales at the company’s wind division increased by SEK 146 million during the first quarter of 2016, and the electricity generation increased by 0.1 TWh, from 1.4 TWh in Q1 2015, to 1.5TWh in Q1 2016.
The improved financial and operating results are attributed to the commissioning of the new wind farms at the end of 2015, including the 288MW DanTysk offshore wind farm in Germany and the 49.5MW Kentish Flats Extension offshore wind farm in the UK.
Vattenfall invested SEK 982m in wind power in the first quarter of 2016, as compared to SEK 1.96bn invested in the same segment in the first quarter of 2015.
During the quarter, Vattenfall commenced the planning process for two wind farms in the eastern North Sea off the Norfolk coast in England.
The first project, the 1.8GW Norfolk Vanguard, will start in 2016. The second project, the 1.8GW Norfolk Boreas, is planned to begin in 2017.
Once an investment decision has been made, the two projects will have combined installed capacity of 3.6GW, corresponding to the electricity needs of more than 2.6 million British households.