Swedish energy company Vattenfall marked a slight dip in net sales at its wind division in the Fiscal Year 2016 despite adding 297MW of new renewable capacity throughout the period.
The company’s wind division reported SEK 6.7 billion in net sales for FY 2016, a 1 per cent drop compared to SEK 6.77 billion in net sales reported for FY 2015, attributed to lower average prices received and less favourable wind conditions, with available wind being 20 percent below a normal year.
The division’s underlying operating profit decreased from SEK 1.47 billion in FY 2015 to SEK 878 million in FY 2016, a 40 per cent drop chalked up to lower production revenue, higher depreciation associated with the commissioning of new wind farms, and higher project planning and repair costs.
The electricity generated by the company’s wind farms in 2016 remained virtually flat compared to FY 2015, and stood at 5.8 TWh, despite the new capacity which included 216MW of a total of 288MW at the Sandbank offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.
Looking ahead, Vattenfall expects the offshore wind projects secured in 2016, including major projects in Denmark with record low winning bids, to ensure long-term project profitability.
The group plans to invest SEK 17 billion in offshore wind projects throughout 2017 and 2018.
The company has identified offshore wind as key to achieve the group’s renewables growth target of 2.3GW commissioned capacity for the period between 2016 and 2020. By 2025, Vattenfall plans to operate a 7GW portfolio by 2025.