Swiss BKW expects to invest EUR 1.45bn in wind power business in Italy

(SeeNews) – Sep 13, 2012 - Samuel Leupold, marketing executive at Swiss BKW AG (SWF:BKW), expects that the utility will invest EUR 1.45 billion (USD 1.87bn) in wind power in Italian region Apulia over the service life its plants there, he told journalists.

By 2018 BKW wants to increase its wind capacity to 50 MW from currently 17 MW in Switzerland and to 750 MW from 311 MW abroad. Despite that wind energy will account for less than one-tenth of BKW's total power generation.

BKW is not, however, planning offshore parks because of the high risks and investments, Leupold said.

Martin Pfisterer, head of renewable subsidiaries Juvent SA and sol-E Suisse, said that the construction of wind parks in Switzerland is slower due to the more complicated approval process.

The company generated revenue of CHF 39.3 million (USD 41.9m/EUR 32.5m) from wind power in the first six months of 2012. The segment delivered for the first time a positive operating result of CHF 10 million. Wind revenue and operating profit are expected to be CHF 67.2 million and CHF 13 million, respectively, for the full year.

Analysts forecast that the company's total revenue will reach CHF 2.69 billion for the full year. The operating profit is seen at CHF 221 million.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.291)
(CHF 1.0 = USD 1.066/EUR 0.826)

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