Wpd to pursue massive expansion of onshore wind, solar portfolio

German renewables developer Wpd AG is seeking to double its own 2.3-GW portfolio in the next three to four years with a focus on solar and onshore wind energy, CFO Bjoern Nullmeyer said on Thursday.

The company has sufficient financial leeway to finance its expansion after the sale of its offshore wind operations to New York-based fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) which was agreed in May.

Currently, Wpd is working on the planning and implementation of a 2-GW pipeline in France with seven wind projects totalling almost 90 MW already under construction. The pipeline in North America consists of developments with a combined capacity of 1.5 GW.

“On the global scale, we see enormous growth rates in the Asian markets. We are reflecting this trend with project developments to the extent of around 800 MW in Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mongolia," said executive board member Hartmut Broesamle.

Last year, the company financed 22 projects with a capacity of 380 MW across Germany. Some of these schemes are already under construction and will be connected to the grid by next year.

The construction of the 31.5-MW Kantow wind park some 90 km northwest of Berlin is set to begin in October with the first preparatory measures. Wpd earlier this week ordered seven N149/4.X turbines with a capacity of 4.5 MW each from Nordex SE (ETR:NDX1) for the wind farm which should go online in the first quarter of 2024.

In the coming years, the Bremen-based company is planning to work on a 4.5-GW project pipeline for wind and solar in the home market.

Until now, Wpd has implemented wind energy projects with a total capacity of 5,740 MW. Its project pipeline includes 13,870 MW of onshore wind and 2,300 MW of solar energy.

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