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Sweden opts out
Swedes drop Offshore
Wind Farm
Increasing costs delay Roedsand II with at
least one year.
Shortly before the publication of the ON/OFF
Yearbook 2008 the Swedish energy company
E.ON Wind Sweden informed that the company
does not wish to be committed to build
Roedsand II Offshore Wind Farm planned to
be established in the waters of Lolland-Falster
in the southern part of Denmark. E.ON
estimates it unprofi table to carry out the
project, as the costs have increased considerably
since the invitation to tender was put forward
– and consequently rejects to continue.
- We agreed to enter the project in the hope
that we, as one of the world’s largest companies
within the industry, had the possibility to
infl uence the price development. Despite the
fact that we from the beginning were willing
30 Offshore Center Danmark
Yearbook 2008
to undertake a larger risk during the preliminary
phase, the project seems to bee too
expensive, the managing director of E.ON
Wind Sweden, Lennart Fagerberg, informs
in a press release.
- We regret the decision we had to make,
however, we have to realize that there is no
other alternative. As early as in May 2007 we
realized that Roedsand II was a risky project
as the budget and the economy were close to
the impossible, however, due to the increased
costs the project is no longer fi nancially
justifi able, Lennart Fagerberg states.
Roedsand II will be built
The permission to build Roedsand II is a result
of a political energy agreement of March
2004 entered between the government and a
majority in the Danish Parliament, where it
was agreed to invite to tender for 2 offshore
wind farms, each with a capacity of 200
MW. The tender, however, was drawn up in a
way that it only gave the consortium the right
to build the wind farm – and not the duty.
- It is of course unsatisfactory that a company
of E.ON‘s size drops the project, and I
have consequently asked the Danish Energy
Authority to investigate the possibility that at
future offshore wind farm tenders the companies
will be committed to their bids, so that
we will not face the same situation again, the
Danish Minister for Climate and Energy, Mrs
Connie Hedegaard, informs, as she continues:
- There is no doubt that Roedsand II will be
built. The fact that E.ON is no longer of the
opinion that the company can live up to the
bid and consequently has withdrawn the commitment
is very unsatisfactory. However, we
need to move forward very fast.
36% increase of costs
Upon an invitation for tender, May 31 2006
the Danish Energy Authority granted Energy