RWE chief financial officer Michael Muller has branded the UK’s £900m Allocation Round 7 offshore wind budget as “incomprehensible and disappointing”.
Muller (pictured) said the cash pot is “too low” and will “enable only a fraction of the eligible projects”, according to a statement he made after publication of the company’s third quarter results.
“It is far from sufficient to realise the urgently needed expansion of new offshore wind capacity to the extent required,” he said.
“However, the UK government has the option of increasing the budget once all bids have been submitted. This would give it the opportunity to mobilise massive investment in the UK energy sector, which could both strengthen energy supply and stimulate economic growth.”
The German developer has over 10GW of capacity that could be entered in the round but analysts believe a maximum of 5GW-6GW will be supported by the £900m.
RWE adjusted EBITDA from offshore wind fell to €915m for the first nine months, down from just over €1bn, due to what is described as weaker wind conditions across Europe.